The Dragon's Regret
by Insanelee
Summary: Natsu goes on the S-Class mission with his fiance, Lisanna and her siblings. However, even with him there, the loss of a family member is inevitable. What would happen to Natsu as a result of this outcome? Will Natsu stay the same or will his dark past arise and take over?
1. Chapter 1: Prologue

Prologue

"Did you guys fight again, Natsu?" Lisanna asked with a small smile on her face. It amused her to no end the childish behavior of Natsu Dragneel, her fiance and the "father" of her little family, and Happy, the "child" that they rasied together years ago.

Natsu had proposed to Lisanna a year ago, and Lisanna accepted without hesitation. She was the only girl that made Natsu feel weird. Out of all the girls in Fairy Tail, she was the only one that Natsu did not have a Natsu-like reaction to. Unlike Erza, he did not want to fight her all the time. In fact, he never wanted to fight her. He always wanted to protect her, more so than any other guild member. There was something about her that confused Natsu. Why did he feel this way with her, but never anyone else in the guild? Sure they all considered themselves family, but Lisanna? She was special.

Unlike Mira, Natsu was not afraid of her. Well, maybe, only when she was angry, and THAT luckily for Natsu, that almost never happens. Natsu always felt calm and relaxed around her. She had an aura that just made you forget about what you were doing and just made you feel good about yourself. But whem she got angry, she was scarier than Erza and Mira combined. At least to Natsu that is.

All of this was confusing to Natsu. Was this what Igneel called "love"? Why did he get this warm feeling in his chest whenever he thought of her. Why does he feel happier than usual when he sees her? It was all confusing to Natsu. Sometimes he wished that Igneel taught more about love.

"Oh Lisanna. You came back?" Natsu asked. He was sitting cross legged, arms across his chest, with a frown on his face.

"Natsu's so mean! He ate all of my fish!" cried Happy, with his back facing Natsu.

"Don't be such a cheapskate!" cried Natsu, annoyed at how petty Happy could be.

"Sheesh Natsu, you're supposed to be the father." Lisanna replied, gatherin gthe attention of the two.

"You're still going on about that?" Natsu asked with a blush on his face, not liking where this conversation was going. Yes he is happily engaged to Lisanna, both whom are happy of finally becoming the family that they acted as in their younger years. However, that doesn't mean that Natsu is not embarassed about what he did back then. Though they were happy times, they were also embarassing times for him.

"Ne ne, what is she talking about?" Happy interjected. He knew that Natsu and Lisanna were engaged, but he had no idea what Lisanna meant when she said Natsu was supposed to be the "father."

"Nothing at all!" Natsu hastily cried, the blush getting bigger.

"Even though families may have their arguments, it still isn't nice to fight. After all, Happy is our child!" Lisanna said with a straight face.

"She just said something strange with a straight face!" Happy said, shocked at what Lisanna said and how she said it.

"Stop talking about that!" Natsu said desparately, really wanting this conversation to end,

"You're in loooooooove!" Happy interjected, clearly amused by Natsu's reactions.

"Stop saying things like that!" Natsu said, becoming more embarassed if that was possible.

"You're still as immature as ever." Lisanna said, clearly having fun with him.

"Don't call me that!" Natsu shouted as Happy and Lisanna were laughing at his expense.

After a while, Lisanna and Happy settled down, while Natsu still supported a small blush on his face. He was not amused that Lisanna and Happy had a good laugh at his expense.

"So what's up Lisanna? How was your mission?" Natsu asked, wanting to know how his fiance's day was.

"You wouldn't believe how much destruction Mira-nee and Elf-nichan can cause trying to get rid of a dark guild. It was a simple mission, just beat up some mages and collect the reward. But no, Mira-nee had to go berserk, and Elf-nichan did the same thing, because 'That's what a man does!'" Lisanna explained, clearly not amused by the events of her day.

Natsu had a big laugh, it was finally his turn to have some fun. It was typical Fairy Tail behavior to go overboard during a mission. It happens all the time, but it never gets old. If nothing got destroyed, that would be very un-Fairy Tail like, and that would be boring.

"Oh come one it couldn't be that bad, could it?" Natsu asked.

"She destroyed half the city!" Lisanna exclaimed. "She's almost as bad as you!"

"Hey!" Natsu cried indignantly.

"And Elf-nichan destroyed the mayor's house! We almost got banned from Crocus if we hadn't given them the reward money to pay for the damages. I've wasted my energy for nothing" she cried.

At this, Natsu's laughter increased tenfold. Mira-nee and Elfman destroying that much property on a simple job, and Lisanna getting nothing in the end, it was too much. He thought of this as Lisanna punishment for her laughing at him. Lisanna had a big frown on her face and was about to say something when she was interupted.

"Lisanna!"

Lisanna, Happy, and Natsu all turned to the source of the noise and saw Mirajane and Elfman walking towards them.

"We got another job to do!" Elfman shouted.

"Huh? But we just came back…" Lisanna started but was interupted.

"It's an S-Class mission. Nee chan took it and we're going to lend her our support" he explained.

"Hold on that's not fair!" Natsu exclaimed. For one thing Lisanna just got back from her mission and he wanted to spend time with her. They still had to plan their wedding, and he hadn't seen her for most of the day. Secondly, it was unfair that not only was Lisanna going to be gone again, but this time on an S-Class mission. Natsu thought that he was strong enough to go on these S-Class missions. He didn't care that he hadn't attained the S-Class status, he just wanted to go on one. The fact that Lisanna and Elfman were going on one was just unfair to him.

"What kind of job is it?" Happy asked.

"An emergency job to get rid of a monster called 'The Beast' the so-called monster king. Wanna come Natsu? It'll be a good experience for you" Mira offered. Mira was sure that she could handle this mission alone, however it didn't hurt to have backup. If Natsu came along, then there would be no chance of failure.

"Are you serious? I won't allow Natsu to come along. A man like me should be able to protect his own family." Elfman stated defiantly. He was the only man among his sisters and he wanted to prove that he could protect them, with or without a Full Body Take Over.

"All the more reason for me to come. You said it yourself, 'A man should be able to take care of his family.' What kind of man would I be if I couldn't protect Lisanna and Mira-nee from this monster thing?" Natsu asked. He wanted to go on this mission no matter what Elfman said.

"Let him come Elf-nichan! I haven't spent much time with him and if he comes along then we can get that job done a lot faster." Lisanna pleaded to her brother. She missed Natsu throughout the entire day and she was going to spend time with him no matter what! To strengthen her request, she used the most dangerous technique that all youngest siblings somehow know how to do: she fake cried. Not just that, but she made it so that her eyes were very puppy like, and even added a little pout to make look so damn cute that it was hard to say no too.

"B-but Lisanna!" Elfman tried to reason with her, but that damn look was just too much. "I… He… But I…" You got to give him credit, he's trying. But try as he might he couldn't resist. "Fine he can come!" he said with a huff.

"Yay! Thank you Elf-nichan you're the best!" Lisanna said, hugging her brother.

"Haha yeah, thank you 'Elf-nichan'" Natsu said in a mocking tone, laughing his ass off at the situation.

"Shut up Natsu!, Let's just go already" Elfman cried wanting to get this mission over with.

"Where are we going anyway?" Natsu asked curious to know the details of the mission.

"It's just a little town a few miles away from here. If we leave now, we might make it before midnight" Mira explained.

"Does that mean we have to take the train?" Natsu asked, hoping that the answer would be no.

"Of course, how else are we supposed to get there? By foot?" Mirajane said, annnoyed by Natsu's motion sickness. Natsu groaned at her response, his head hung, not looking forward to this mission at all. Maybe he should just stay behind…

"Don't worry Natsu, you can rest your head on my lap if that makes you feel better" Lisanna offered with a blush on her face. Natsu's head perked up at her offer. Maybe this trip wouldn't be so bad after all.

"Heh heh, if you insist" Natsu said with a blush of his own coming on to his face. He loved this side of Lisanna, the caring, motherly side of Lisanna. She made him feel good about himself, even on transportation. Not even Happy could do that. They looked at each other with a passion burning in their eyes. They stared at each other, lost in their own little world. Everything else disappeared from them, and only those two remained. The intensity of their love was icredible. This was true love, nothing could disrupt this.

"Can you two lovebirds get your asses into gear and get moving already?"

Then of course there was Mira. The Demon had broken the trance between the couple, sporting big red blushes on their faces. The two gave each other a small look, and with a nod from both, they set off to their mission.

"Bring back lots of fish!" Happy yelled, waving at the retreating group.

* * *

The Take Over Sibilings and Natsu had arrived at the small town of Averia a couple of hours ago. Mira and Elfman had gone into town to gather information about The Beast in order to formulate a plan of attack. Natsu and Lisanna however stayed at their hotel, finally spending some time together, discussing various things.

"Finally we have some time to ourselves" Lisanna said as she laid down on the bed, cuddling with Natsu. "We haven't really done anything in a while."

"Really? What about yesterday? You know, when we were at my house and you started kissing me and taking off my pants and…"

"NOT LIKE THAT!" Lisanna yelled, embarassed at how casually Natsu could say such things. He was embarassed at their childhood antics, but he could talk about sex as if it were nothing? He really was a strange person, but that's what attracted him to her. It was a magical night for both of them. Their passion and love for each other defined itself that night, and it would be a night that both of them would never forget. But that's another story for another time. Especially when a certain website limits what you can write about…

"So what are you thinking about?" Lisanna asked, wanting to know why Natsu was so quiet.

"Nothing, just glad that I'm finally spending some time with you." Natsu said as he hugged her, making her blush.

"Natsu stop it" Lisanna said with a smile. She loved how Natsu acted around her. It was cute, unexpected coming from the dragonslayer who was usually as dense as a rock when it came to things like romance. "We need to start planning for the wedding" she insisted, wanting to finally plan out her dream wedding. She couldn't believe that she was the first of her siblings, and the first woman in the guild to get married, and she wanted everything to be perfect.

"Oh don't worry about things like that Lisanna. We just need to pick a place, and other stuff like that and we'll be done, how hard could it be?" Natsu asked, not exactly understanding how important this event would be to Lisanna.

"You make it sound so easy, but it really takes a lot of work" Lisanna told Natsu, annoyed at his attitude about the wedding.

"Oh come on it can't be that hard, I bet we already know where to have the wedding. Right?" Natsu asked with a smile.

"I mean, yeah of course, I mean the answer is pretty obvious. The answer was right in front of us the entire time." Lisanna agreed with a smile.

" Alright so we're gonna get married at the guild/Kardia Cathedral" Natsu/Lisanna replied at the same time. They looked at each other with a strange face after hearing each other's reply.

"The Guild/Kardia Cathedral? Why there?" They asked each other.

"The guild has been a part of our lives, it would be wrong if we didn't have a wedding there with all of our friends and family" Natsu argued.

"A church is the traditional place to get married, we are going there." Lisanna said with a frown on her face.

"Why should we go to a church? Churches are so boring, there's nothing to do there" Natsu countered using his "logic."

"It's tradition!" Lisanna stated

"It's boring!" Natsu countered.

"Really? So why would the guild be a better place than the church?" Lisanna yelled, wanting to know the reasoning behind Natsu's choice.

"We've been a part of that guild since we were kids, it would be wrong not to have it there. The only thing church goers do is talk. That's it! They just talk, do you know how boring that gets? At the guild everybody parties and fight each other!" Natsu said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"People don't have to fight all the time to have a good time. They can just talk to each other and be civil about it. Is fighting all you ever think about?" Lisanna shouted, angered at Natsu for his simple-mindedness.

"Of course not! I think of many other things like food, and making fun of Gray, and uh… food." Natsu countered, or at least tried to.

"Really, then why did you want to come to this mission? Admit it, you wanted to fight 'The Beast' as soon as those words came out of Mira-nee's lips." Lisanna said, furious at this point with Natsu.

"That's not it at all!" Natsu yelled. At this point, both got out of the bed and stood on opposite sides of it, engaged in a heated battle of words and accusations. As soon as Natsu said these words, Lisanna gave him a look that said 'Oh really?'.

"Okay fine that's one reason." Natsu said after a while. "I wanted to come because…" Natsu trailed off.

"Because of what Natsu?" Lisanna angrily said, wanting to know why he came on this mission.

"Because… because… Because I don't trust Elfman." Natsu finally said, earning a gasp from Lisanna.

"You what?" Lisanna asked, not trusting her ears.

"I don't trust Elfman." Natsu repeated. "He's a strong mage, but compared to you and Mira-nee, he's… Well he's.." Natsu did not know how to complete this sentence without hurting Lisanna even more than he had already.

"So you're calling Elf-nichan weak, is that it?" Lisanna said quietly, her hair covering her eyes.

"What! No, not at all" Natsu hastily replied.

"Then what are you saying Nastu? First you're not taking our wedding plans sriously, now you're making fun of my family? How dare you!" Lisanna was positively seethng at this point. The man she had loved since childhood saying these kinds of things, it was too much for her. Her tears were building up.

"When did I not take our wedding plans seriously! And I never made fun of Elfman, I'm must saying that while he is a strong mage, he doesn't compare to you or Mira-nee. I can do a better job than him on this job!" Natsu replied back, angered at the turn of this conversation.

"This wedding means a lot to me! Ever since I was a little girl I always dreamed of how my wedding would go, and now that it's here, you're not taking it seriously. Your trampling my dreams Natsu. And if you hadn't called Elfman weak before you certainly did now!" Lisanna cried, the tears falling from her eyes at this point. "If you could just grow up and become an adult, I could die a happy woman!"

Natsu would've stopped this fight and conforted her, but this is Natsu. As a son of a dragon, he learned never to back down from a fight, and assert his dominance, no matter who his opponent was. That stubborness would cost him however.

"I can't believe you're saying these things about me! But if you're going to be like that, then maybe we shouldn't get married you crazy bitch!" Natsu yelled, not realizing the damage the words he said had caused.

Lisanna's eyes widened at his statement, and out of intense anger, she slapped him. HARD. It was so loud you could here it from their hotel to Magnolia. She was shaking from both intense anger and from sobbing.

"If that's how you feel, then maybe we shouldn't get married." She took off the ring from her hand and threw it at Natsu. It hit his chest, but he let it fall to the ground. "Get out" she said quietly, but with enough venom to bring Natsu out of his rage induced stupor. He finally realized what he had said to Lisanna, but it was too late to apologize. He called her a crazy bitch, and basically told her that they shouldn't get married. How the hell do you fix that?

"Lisanna, I…"

"Get out! I hate you!"

Those three words did it for Natsu. He picked up the ring from the floor, and quietly left the hotel. After he had left, Lisanna finally let out her sadness, and collapsed on the bed, crying her eyes out. She couldn't believe what had happened. She just wanted to spend time with Natsu, but instead, a fight broke out, and her wedding was officailly canceled. She couldn't believe it. All of a sudden, Lisanna heard the fearful cries of the townsfolk. Quickly wiping her eyes, she ran out of the hotel to see the town ablaze. Thinking quickly, she used her **Animal Soul: Bird** and helped the citizens evacuate. She then flew to find her sister and brother.

* * *

Natsu had retreated into a forest near the town and rested on a hill. He sat there deep in thought, the red hand print still fresh and stinging in his cheek. His mind was jumbled right now. Why did Lisanna cry? Why was she so angry at him? Did he say something wrong? Well, he obviously thought so, if she was that angry and cried that much. Natsu didn't understand it at all. Did he really make fun of her dreams, even if it was unintentional? Did he really not take the wedding seriously? It wasn't his fault. He thought that a wedding would just be a simple ceremony, listen to the priest talk, say a few things to each other, give each other rings, and seal the deal with a kiss. It couldn't be any more complicated than that could it? Maybe Natsu really did hurt Lisanna's feelings. If she cried because she thought he didn't take the wedding seriously, then there must be some truth in that. The wedding was a big deal to Lisanna, and seeing her cry broke Natsu's heart. Then there was Elfman. Lisanna thought that Natsu called him weak. He didn't mean that at all! Elfman was a strong mage, one of the strongest non S-Class members of the guild! He just couldn't understand Lisanna. Did she misinterpret his words, or did he say the wrong things to describe his thoughts? It was all confusing to Natsu. But in the end, it made Lisanna cry. Lisanna crying was like the end of the world to Natsu. He loved Lisanna, and seeing her cry, because of him, just killed him. He didn't take the wedding seriously, made fun of Elfman, intentional or not, and then called her a bitch and called off the wedding. What kind of a man was he? If Elfman were here, he would beat the everlasting shit out of him. He wondered which was worse, Elfman or Mira beating the crap out of him. Both just made him shudder in fear. Maybe Lisanna was right. Maybe he didn't take the wedding seriously, maybe he did make fun of Elfman. He hadn't ealized that the wedding was THAT important to Lisanna. Sure it was important to him, but to Lisanna, it was on a whole different level. Then there was the Elfman issue. Did Natsu really douby Elfman's abilities that much? Did he really think he was weak? He and the Talk Over Siblings were a part of Fairy Tail, a guild were everybody loves each other and pratically thought of each other as familiy. If he called Lisanna's brother weak, didn't that mean that he called him own brother weak? Lisanna was definitely right. He thought the wedding would've been a simple process and he really thought that Eflman was weak. But there were two things that bothered Natsu the most, and it was the last couple of sentences of Lisanna's tirade.

'_If you could just grow up and become an adult, I could die a happy woman!'_

'_I hate you!'_

What did that mean? Natsu had heard several times from his guild members that he was an immature brat. A VERY immature brat. Despite that, people loved him for that, saying that the guild would be boring without people like him. Natsu took pride at that for that reason. He hadn't seen anything wrong with how he acted. But what Lisanna said really made him think, more so than usual. What his behavior a pain in the ass for Lisanna to handle sometimes? Was he really THAT much of an immature brat? Was she THAT annoyed by it? Well if he couldn't take their marriage seriously, then the question might answer itself.

Then the second sentence just brought a lot of guilt to Natsu's already guilt ridden mind. She hated him. She said it to him. No, she yelled it at him. That's how much she hated him. Did he really hurt her feelings that much? Did his words have a lot more weigh in them then he thought? Well, if they made her cry, then the answer was obvious. He gave out a big sigh, mad at himself for losing it. She was his fiance, his childhood friend who was there to help hatch Happy's egg. How could he do this to her? A lot of the guild members warned Natsu to never anger a woman, for it is scarier than the strongest dragon. They were right, but he didn't heed their advice. Instead, he put oil in the fire, and just made It worse. He felt like a fucking moron. He thought of ways to fix his mistakes, but only one thing came to mind, and it was a very simple solution.

He would have to apologize to Lisanna, and fast if he still wanted to get married.

As he got up, he smelled something familiar.

'What is that? It smells like sniff…sniff… Fire!' Natsu realized. Then he heard the cries of innocent people and turned to the source of the cries. It was Averia, the quiet town was ablaze. What had happened while he was gone? Then it dawned on him.

'Lisanna! The mission!' Natsu's eyes had widened in horror. He completely forgot about the mission. He was so deep in thought about his fight that the mission was the furthest thing from his mind. He got up and rushed to the town.

* * *

"Elfman! Pull yourself together!" Mira cried in pain as a giant beast approached her. She clutched her arm in pain, Elfman, or the Beast, swung his arm and it broke her arm. She sat on the ground in a valley near the town, despearelty thinking about how to subdue the monster. She was in great pain, and covered in injures, but she'll be damned if she lost her brother to this monster just because he couldn't handle the monster's overwhelming magic.

"Mira-nee!"

Mira turned to the sound of the voice and found Lisanna, using her magic to transform herself as a bird. She landed next to her and reverted back to her human form.

"I evacuated everyone in the town! What happened?" She asked, looking at the monster. It struck her as odd, this monster seemed very familiar, even though it was her first time actually seeing it. She wrapped Mira's arm around her neck to help her stand up.

"Get out of here Lisanna! I got careless. Elfman wanted to protect me and tried to Take Over the beast!" Mira explained. Her response made Lisanna gasp in realization

"Then, you mean…?"

"But that thing's magic was too powerful! Elfman lost control of himself!"

"Oh no! What are we going to do?"

"We need to get him to come back to his senses before the beast takes permanent control!"

At this point the beast was right in front of them, growling angrily. These two human females seemed familiar to him, but for some reason he couldn't remember who exactly they were. He raised his arm to strike them when…

"**Karyu no Tekken!" (Fire Dragon's Iron Fist)**

A fist englufed in fire can out of no where and hit the beast straight in the face. The impact was so strong that he stumbled backwards a couple of steps. Natsu had come out of no where and saved the two from certain death.

"Natsu!" The sisters cried.

"What happened? Where's Elfman!" Natsu asked, not taking the beast out of his sight.

"Natsu, THAT is Elfman! He tried to Take Over the beast, but it was just too strong, and lost control!" Lisanna quickly explained.

"That's Elfman?" Natsu asked, surprise written all over his face. "How do we get him back to normal?"

"We have to make him come back to his senses somehow." Mira explained.

"So, we beat the crap out of him?" Natsu asked, using his logic to define 'bringing him back to his senses.'

"Well that's one way to put it." Mira said after a while. She knew there were other ways of reverting Elfman back to himself, but he was just too strong. Beating him senseless was the only solution.

"Well that's just fine with me! I'll just kick this monster bastard's ass and we can go home!" Natsu said excitedly, with fire surrounding his body.

"You can't beat him Natsu! If I couldn't then you certainly can't!" Mira exclaimed, trying to reason with Natsu. However, he just wouldn't listen. He was determined to defeat this beast no matter what.

"Lisanna, take your sister and get as far away from here as possible. I'll…" Natsu never got to finish the sentence. The beast appeared in front of him, suprisingly very quickly, and knocked Natsu away from both of them. He cried in pain, he hadn't expected the beast to be this strong. The swing had enough force to break Natsu's left arm, and send him flying into the many giant rocks surrounding them.

"NATSU!" Both women cried, surpised at how the beast quickly took out Natsu.

The beast roared, and once again raised his claws into the air and brought it down, intending to crush the sisters. All of a sudden, Natsu quickly jumped at them and pushed them out of the way. However, when he did that, one of the claws of the beast's hand managed to make a huge cut over Natsu's right eye, effectively disabling it.

"!" Natsu writhed in horrible pain. It was bad enough that his left arm was broken, but losing his eye? The pain was unimaginable. He was covering his eye with his good arm and stayed on the floor.

"Natsu!" Lisanna and Mira cried in horror, unable to believe that Natsu took such a horrible blow from them.

'What the hell? This monster is so strong! Is this really Elfman? No, it can't be. Elfman wouldn't hurt his family, or me, or anybody for that matter. The beast must have a really strong effect on him.' Natsu thought to himself. He slowly got up, still covering his eye, determined to stop the , his situation was not good: his left arm is broken, his right arm is covering his now disabled right eye, and with only one eye, his depth perception deteriorated immensely. How could he fight such a beast in his state? It was unfathomable.

'What is this feeling? Why do I feel so hopeless? So weak? So…. Scared? Is this…. Fear? Am I shaking in fear of Elfman? No, I'm shaking in fear, because I'm weak. I can't protect Lisanna or Mira in my condition. Mira's injured, and Lisanna can't possibly fight this thing. This is hopeless!' Natsu thought as the weight of the situation finally dawned on him. He thought he could just charge headfirst into the situation and take care of everything like how he always handled things. Instead, his injuries and the beast's strength made him feel like an idiot. He risked his life,and the lives of his teammates, based on a reckless move. Lisanna was right, he really needed to grow up.

'No, I can't think like this! I need to distract this thing somehow. If Lisanna and Mira can get out of here safely, then I won't care if I die or not fighting this beast.' Natsu thought with resolve. He was scared that's for sure, but for the sake of his nakama, he was fearless.

The beast turned its attention to the Take Over Sisters, ready to kill them. It released a deafening roar that scared the sisters, and raised its arm to strike when…

"**Karyu no Hoko!" (Fire Dragon's Roar)**

A stream of fire hit the beast square in the face, fazing it momentarily.

"Natsu!" Lisanna and Mira cried, relieved and worried at the same time. Relieved that Natsu still had some fight left in him, but worried that Natsu could get hurt even more.

"Lisanna, take Mira and get out of here! I'll take care of this." Natsu ordered, determined to stop the beast and its rampage.

"No I won't leave you! We're a team, we can fight it together!" Lisanna countered not wanting to leave Natsu, her… ex-finance.

"Just go!" Natsu yelled, and then he released another attack.

"**Karyu no Koen! (Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame)" **He attacked the beast in the face again, but with only one arm, the attack was only half as strong. The impact of the attack released a large cloud of smoke as Natsu waited, anticipating its next attack. Unfortunately for Natsu, due to the decreased strength of his attack, the beast was unfazed, and countered. The beast got both of its claws, and made an X mark on Natsu's chest. Natsu' s chest was on fire. And not the kind that he could eat, or the kind he was immune too. The fire burned him. But it wasn't actual fire, just overwhelming pain. 10 claws, 5 on each side, from the shoulders down to his waist, covered his mid section. A copious amount of blood came out of the marks, but the beast didn't care. He just kept attacking. The beast raised its arm again and swatted at Natsu, wanting to finally get rid of the pink haired pest. Natsu quickly reacted by raising his right leg in order to defend himself, but just like his arm, it broke under the strength of the attack. Fortunately, he stood his ground, but the pain left him unprepared for the beast's next attack. It stabbed Natsu using one of its horns into his stomach. At this point Natsu was losing an onscene amount of blood. How was he still alive? The beast then made a fierce turn of its head and sent Natsu flying. He crashed into a wall and as a result of his crash, the rocks came crashing down on to Natsu's body. One particularly large rock landed on Natsu's broken leg, intensifying the pain.

"Natsu!" both women cried for the third time. The situation there were in scared them. How one sided could this battle possibly get? Mira's injured so she can't find, Natsu's in critical condition, and while Lisanna is perfectly fine, she stood no chance against the Beast. If it defeated NatsuAND Mira effortlessly, what chance did she have? Lisanna didn't want to leave Natsu behind, no wanting to face the guilt of abandoning her nakama. The fight that she and Natsu had earlier plagued her mind. If she left and he died, her last words to him would've been "I hate you." How could she live with that? Lisanna had to think of a way for Elfman to go back to normal. If fighting didn't work, what about talking? Violence never really solved anything, so a diplomatic solution like talking should work, right?

Lisanna took a deep breath and calmly walked up to the beast.

"Lisanna, what are you doing?" Both Natsu and Mira cried. What was she doing? She wasn't going to fight it, was she?

"What's the matter, Elf-nichan?" Lisanna asked innocently. She hoped that if she talked to him, maybe he could go back to normal. Natsu and Mira were scared shitless for Lisanna. The beast beat Natsu around like a ragdoll, who knows what it could do to Lisanna. Why wasn't she running away, what is she trying to do?

"It's me Lisanna, your little sister. Have you forgotten Mira-Nee and Natsu as well?" At this the beast growled. Lisanna was getting scared, but she wouldn't back down. She was sure this plan would work.

"You 'd never really forget about us would you? After all Mira, Natsu, and I love you so much!" At this, the beast let out a ferocious roar, and raised its arm again. But Lisanna didn't care, she was not going to hurt Elf-nichan no matter what.

Lisanna then outstreched her arms. "Now let's go home, Elf-nichan!"

At this, the beast quickly swiped at Lisanna, knocking her far away into some bushes to the side. Time froze for Mira and Natsu. Lisanna, the cute Take Over Mage had just been knocked away like a ragdoll by the Beast who was controlling Elfman. They couldn't believe what had happened.

"!" They both shouted. With an attack like that, Lisanna was in critical condition, she could die! Mira got up, but as she did, she looked at Natsu, and then to the direction where Lisanna went. What could she do? Stay with Natsu, or help her little sister? Luckily, Natsu helped her with her little dilemma.

"Mira, just go! I'll handle this guy!"

"What about you? You're stuck under a rock! How could you do anything against him?" Mira yelled, desperation laced in her face.

"Don't worry I got a plan, just go!" Natsu yelled, his voice leaving no room for argument. Mira, with a little hesistation, finally left to go tend to Lisanna.

The beast watch Mira carefully, and when she left, the beast attempted to follow her, but was stopped but a tug he felt. He looked behind him and saw that Natsu had grabbed on to his tail. His grip was strong and he was not about to let go. The beast let out a ferocious roar.

"You're not going anywhere you bastard." Natsu said his anger in his voice. There was only one thing he could do to defeat the beast, but this was his last resort. If this didn't work, then everything would become hopeless. Natsu prepared to gather his fire magic in his arm that was holding on to the Beast's tail. He was preparing to unleash a forbidden spell taught to him by Igneel, used only when he was extremely desperate to save his no other option, Natsu performed the technique, and prayed that it worked.

"**Metsuryu Kinjutsu: Goryuka" (Dragon Slayer Forbidden Technnique: Great Dragon Fire)**

His arm emitted a bright light, and suddenly, a great pillar of flame erupted. Natsu and the beast screamed in pain, the beast for being caught in the center of the attack, and Natsu for sacrificing his arm in a powerful explosion to use the attack. Mira was tending to Lisanna's injuries when she heard the explosion. She didn't have to look anywhere for it because the pillar of flames was so tall you could see it anywhere in the little town. Even from where she was, the pillars gave off very strong heat.

"Natsu…." She said quietly, hoping that whatever Natsu did, it subdued the beast.

Back at the battlefield, an injured and burnt Elfman laid unconscious, back to his human form. Natsu was panting in exhaustion. The kinjutsu took a lot of energy out of him, and it had cost him his arm. He was in horrible pain: 10 slash marks covering his midsection, a broken leg crushed under a giant rock that he was quickly losing any feeling to, a broken arm, a arm that was completely burned off, and a missing off, in addition to massive blood loss. Natsu's eyes were becoming heavy, was he going to die here?

'At least, everyone's okay, I hope…' Were Natsu's last thoughts before he drifted into unconsciousness

* * *

"Lisanna!" Mira ran toward her sister's body as soon as she found her. Lisanna had many bruises all over her body. That attack had severely injured her, but she never thought it would be this bad.

"Mira-nee…" Lisanna said weakly.

"Don't talk Lisanna, just save your strenghth! Your big sister is here to help you!" Mira cried as see tried to tend to the wounds.

"Mira-nee, I'm sorry." Lisanna said with a weak smile.

"Sorry? What for, you did nothing wrong" Mira replied hoping that itwould get rid of whatever sadness was affecting Lisanna.

"You and Natsu told me to run, and I didn't. Now I'm here, dying" Lisanna answered, tears starting to form.

"Don't say that! You are not dying!" Mira cried. Her voice cracked due to her overwhelming sadness.

Suddenly, a large pillar of flames erupted from out of nowhere. Mira turned to the site of it, and deduced that Natsu had caused the spell, and after hearing the beast's loud roar, he figured out that Natsu had defeated the beast.

"Is that Natsu?" Lisanna asked with a quiet voice.

"Yeah. That fiance of yours did it Lisanna. He returned Eflman to normal. Now I'm going to heal you so that we can go back to the guild and prepare your wedding." Mira replied hastily, doing whatever she could to heal her sister.

"You don't have to Mira-nee, the wedding's off." Lisanna said with a sad smile.

"What? What are you talking about? The wedding's off? Why?" Mira questioned, never straying away from her task.

"Natsu and I…. had a big fight…. He must hate me so much right now" Lisanna said, breathing becoming a difficult task for had a small, but sad smile on her face, and the tears started rolling down her face. Even in her pain, she could still talk about ominous things with a straight face.

"Don't be ridiculous! Natsu wouldn't cancel the wedding for something as silly as a fight! Just stop talking so that you can feel better. After that we can go back to the guild and prepare your dream wedding." Mira deperately said. Tears were rolling down her face. She couldn't help but blame herself in this situation. She was the oldest sibling, yet because of her, the younger brother had tried to Take Over a monster too strong for him, and he attacked their youngest sibling. She was not going to let Lisanna die. If she died, then she effectively ruined her dreams of having a big wedding. She was not going to let that happen. Her sister was getting married dammit! She was going to save her. She continued to apply her healing magic when something stopped her.

A bright light covered Lisanna, scaring Mira.

"Mira-nee, I love you and Elf-nichan so much. I.. love… the guild so much! Tell… Natsu… that I'm sorry….. and that I love him… with all of my heart…." Lisanna said as the light completely enveloped her and took her body away from Mira.

"No! Lisanna you can't leave!" Mira ugged her sister as tighly, bu t as gently as she could, to prevent the light from taking her away. The light, however, had managed to slip Lisanna away from her grasp and took her with it to an unknown location.

Mira screamed in agony as her little sister was taken away from her. She failed to protect her family. Because of her, Elfman failed his Take Over. Because of her, Natsu was in severe pain. Because of her, Lisanna was…. Dead. She cried in agony, as the realization dawned on her. She failed miserably, as a mage, and as a sister. How could she face the guild? How could she face Elfman? How could she face Natsu? She couldn't save his fiance, he surely was going to hate her.

Over at the battlefield, Natsu had lost consciousness, blissfully unaware of the pain and suffering Mirajane Strauss, the oldest of the Take Over Siblings, was experiencing.

The date of Lisanna's death would haunt the three mages for the rest of their lives. But to Natsu, it would just more pain.

Time of Death: July 7,X782.


	2. Chapter 2: The Aftermath

**Chapter 2: The Aftermath**

**Author's Note: Hey guys! Insanelee here and I'm back with another chapter of _The Dragon's Regret._ Thanks for the reviews, faves, and followings. They aren't much, but I appreciate them nonetheless. I just hope my story will get popular as it goes on.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Fairy Tail, its characters, and its awesomeness all belong to the great Hiro Mashima.**

* * *

Magnolia Hospital, July 12, X782

White.

That was the first thing Natsu saw when he wore up. White. And a lot of it.

Natsu woke up, recognizing the white object he was looking at.

'This happens all the time and I still can't get used to it' Natsu thought. Waking up at either Magnolia Hospital or the Guild Infirmary was something that always happened to Natsu. Whenever he would get injured after a very tough mission, Natsu would wake up in either of the two locations. Even after all of the years of being a Fairy Tail mage, he still couldn't get used to waking up to the sight of the hospital's ceiling.

Natsu tried to get up, but as soon as he moved, he felt immense pain. The pain was beyond anything he had ever experienced. The tiniest of actions from Natsu sent shockwaves of unimaginable pain throughout his body. Natsu screamed in pain and lay back down on the bed. He closed his eyes and started to pant heavily after trying to get up.

'What the hell happened to me?' Natsu wondered. He opened his eyes and looked down to observe his body. What he saw shocked him. Natsu noticed that the right section of his body was missing. His right arm was no longer where it should've been. The same applied to his right leg. There were bandages covering his right eye which meant to Natsu that it was injured or rendered useless like the rest of his right half. He looked to his left, which fared better, but not by much. He saw his left arm and leg both in casts, and his left leg was suspended by a sling.

'At least I still have something.' Natsu thought bitterly.

He looked down to his midsection and saw that it was heavily bandaged. The pain he felt from getting up mostly came from his midsection. Natsu averted his gaze back up to the ceiling and tried to remember what happened to him. His thoughts were interrupted when he heard a knock.

"You've finally woke up, huh?"

Natsu turned his head to his right and saw Erza Scarlet, the Titania of Fairy Tail, standing by the door. She was wearing her casual attire, a white sleeveless blouse with a blue ribbon on her collar, a blue skirt, and black boots. She had her left hand on her right arm, and walked into Natsu's room. What struck Natsu odd about Erza was her expression. Erza looked…. sad for some reason. Usually Erza is always smiling whenever she was with her friends, or incredibly scary when she's mad. This expression was new to Natsu. As far as he knew, Erza never appeared to be sad around him. This worried him. What happened that could make even Erza sad?

"How are you feeling?" Erza asked kindly, the saddened expression never leaving her face.

"Fine…" Natsu replied slowly.

An awkward silence enveloped the room. Natsu wanted to ask Erza why she was so sad, but the words wouldn't come out. Erza in turn wanted to tell Natsu what had happened on the mission but it was just too hard for her to do so.

"Erza…"

"Natsu…"

The both said each other's names at the same time. Natsu told her to go first, but Erza insisted that Natsu start.

"Why do you look so sad Erza? What happened? Who did it to you? I swear when I get out of this bed I'm gonna find whoever made you sad and kick his ass!" Natsu exclaimed, bringing a sad smile to Erza's face. Even in extreme pain, Natsu was always willing to help his friends. However, the saddened expression quickly replaced her smile.

"Natsu what do you remember about your mission?" Erza asked, ignoring Natsu's outburst. Natsu appeared to be deep in thought, trying to remember what he could about the mission.

"Uh, I remember fighting this giant monster and then Lisanna…" Natsu trailed off, his eyes widening. He suddenly remembered that Lisanna got hurt very badly on the mission. He looked at Erza with a worried expression.

"Where's Lisanna? Is she okay?" Natsu asked Erza. At the mention of Lisanna's name, Erza expression grew even sadder. Natsu noticed this and got scared. Natsu had never felt scared about anything before. He never got scared on any mission that he took, and never got scared whenever something happened to his nakama. He would always complete the mission no matter what, and his nakama would always overcome their problems. However, when it came to Lisanna, Natsu's thought processes change. While he knew that Lisanna was a very capable mage, he still couldn't help but feel worried for her wellbeing. He was her fiancé and he promised to protect her from anything. Even after their big argument, he would always protect her, whether she wanted him to or not.

"Lisanna's…" Erza trailed off, scaring Natsu further.

"Erza what happened to Lis-aahhh!" Natsu tried to say. He got up from the bed, forgetting about what had happened the first time he tried to do that. Erza heard Natsu's screams, and gently laid him back down to his bed. He took deep breaths to calm himself down.

"Natsu…" Erza said gathering his attention. "Lisanna's… dead." Erza finally said.

Natsu looked at her with an unreadable expression. Had he heard her right? Was Lisanna Strauss, his childhood friend and the love of his life, dead?

"Hahaha, that's a good one Erza. Seriously what happened?" Natsu chuckled nervously. He didn't like how serious Erza's expression was when she said that. Lisanna couldn't be dead. She was a Fairy Tail mage and his fiancé, she could handle anything.

"Natsu, I'm serious. Lisanna is dead." Erza said, her tone leaving no room for argument. Natsu looked at her with the same unreadable expression. He tried to take in what Erza told him. She used the tone of voice that she used whenever she scolded someone. That tone meant that she was serious about whatever she was talking about. Hearing her say something outrageous using that tone of voice was hard for Natsu to take in.

"You mean… she's really….?" Natsu said, the memories of the mission coming back to him. He remembered fighting Elfman because the Beast had overpowered him. He remembered recklessly charging into the battle, and how he got manhandled by the Beast. But most importantly, he remembered seeing Lisanna, flying into the air by the Beast's attack. All of the memories of the mission surged into Natsu's head. Combined with the information Erza gave him, it was too much for him to bear. Tears formed on Natsu's good eye, which eventually fell down from his eyes. Natsu cried in agony. Erza could only stand there, tears forming in her own eyes, having done the hardest thing she ever had to do in her life. Someone had to tell Natsu the truth of what happened, and she took it upon herself to do so. Mira obviously couldn't do it, and Elfman was still recovering. She wouldn't let Gray do it, fearing that somehow Natsu might feel worse than he needed to be. The tears were streaming down her face at this point, and she brought her hands to her face, muffling her sobs.

Telling Natsu what had happened was something she had never wanted to do, but hearing Natsu cry? Never in her life had she ever heard Natsu cry. To her, Natsu crying was impossible. Natsu was always the mage that was strong because he wanted to protect his friends. He never showed any weakness, just indomitable spirit and unbelievable strength. Seeing him cry and hearing his sobs intensified Erza's own sadness. She ran to his bedside and gently hugged him. She held him gently, whispered soothing words into his ears, and rubbed his back in comfort. At times like this, you really need someone to hug.

Natsu had never felt so much pain before. Physically, his sobs were making his body shake with sadness. Each shake brought a wave of pain to his body. That however, paled in comparison to the emotional pain he was feeling. He had promised to protect Lisanna from anything, and he failed. He promised to Mira and Elfman that he would keep her safe from anything no matter what, and he had failed. What did it for Natsu was the last conversation they had together: their argument. A new wave of sadness overcame Natsu when he realized that her last words to her, besides screaming her name and him telling her to move out of the way, were "Crazy Bitch."

"_I can't believe you're saying these things about me! But if you're going to be like that, then maybe we shouldn't get married you crazy bitch!"_

How could he have done such a thing? That one argument was the first that they ever had, and it was their last. How could he have called the love of his life a crazy bitch? It was an unforgiveable action, and Natsu hated himself for it. As he was crying, he remembered something that Lisanna had told him before he had left the hotel room.

"_If you could just grow up and become an adult, I could die a happy woman!"_

Did Lisanna really think of him like that? Did she really think that he wasn't an adult? Was he an immature child to her eyes? Were his childish antics so annoying that even she had her limits? Did she want him to change that much? She said that she could die a happy woman if he grew up. Did his antics have that effect on her? Did she really want him to change so much to the point where she could die?

As Natsu pondered these thoughts, he continued to cry into Erza's shoulder. After a very long time, Natsu had cried himself to sleep. Erza, feeling exhausted from crying with Natsu, pulled up a chair, and put her head down on the bed. She put her hand on top of Natsu's for the emotional support that he definitely needed. Erza went to sleep shortly afterwards, and as she slept, she remembered the events that occurred before and after the mission.

* * *

Flashback

_Fairy Hills, July 6, X782_

_Erza woke up with a sense of worry. She had a feeling that something really bad was going to happen and tried to ignore it. As she was taking her shower, the feeling grew and it worried her._

'_Why am I feeling this? What is going to happen?' Erza thought ominously. She made sure to keep her guard up._

_Even when she arrived at the guild, the presence of her nakama did not quell the feeling that traveled to her stomach. The feeling was so strong that it almost made her sick. She looked around the guild to see who was there. There was Gray in his underpants as usual sitting next to Cana who, unsurprisingly, was chugging beer from the barrel. She saw Macao and Wakaba sitting at a table with big blushes on their faces. Whether it was from beer or from perverted thoughts, Erza did not want to know. She saw Levy reading one of her many books at a table, with Jet and Droy swooning over her as always. All of the guild members were there, except for the Takeover Siblings, and Natsu. Thinking about those four made the feeling in her stomach intensify. _

'_Is something going to happen to those four?' Erza thought. Something really big must be waiting for strong mages such as those four. She had no doubt that all four of them were incredibly strong mages, even thought she would never say it Mira outright. However, the feeling in her stomach was too strong for her to ignore. She worried that whatever was going to happen to them, that even those four could not handle it._

_Her thoughts were interrupted when Natsu suddenly came into the guild. As usual, Gray had to say something to Natsu, and he had to retort back, resulting in a guild brawl. Erza, too consumed with her thoughts, did not attempt to stop the brawl. Instead, she looked over at Cana, who sat next to her, drinking beer from the barrel._

"_Cana" Erza called. At the mention of her name, Cana froze. Whenever a Guild brawl would break out, and Erza went to stop it, she would scold her fellow Guild members about something, whether they participated or not. No one tried to stop her, fearing her wrath._

"…_Yeah?" Cana replied nervously._

_Erza walked behind the bar and took out a mug. She walked towards Cana and took the seat next to her, placing the mug In between herself and the barrel._

"_Mind if I join you?"_

_Erza's question greatly shocked Cana. Erza was the type of person that brings order to the otherwise unruly Fairy Tail Guild. She was a strict and demanding person, and wanted everything around her to be orderly. However, Erza was asking her if they could drink together. Erza wasn't the type of person to drink alcohol casually, but something must be up for Erza to want a drink. Cana poured Erza some beer from the barrel and Erza proceeded to drink all of the beer from the mug. Erza made a sound of satisfaction after finishing her cup. It had a strong taste, but the feeling in her stomach did go away a little. Erza put the mug in front of Cana, wanting more, and drank again. This time, she only drank some of it. She put the mug down in front of her and crossed her arms on the bar. Cana and Erza sat together, with an air of awkwardness surrounding the two, more so for Cana than Erza, who didn't seem to notice._

_As hours had passed, the brawl had stopped, and Natsu left the guild to wait for Lisanna to return from her mission. Erza sat at the bar stool, still worried, when the guild doors opened. Mira and Elfman came back from the mission. With Lisanna not there, she deduced that she had gone to meet up with Natsu. Mira went to the second floor of the guild where the S-Class missions were. She scanned the board, and took a mission flyer. It surprised Erza that Mira was going on another mission immediately after completing the first one, but she said nothing. As Mira and Elfman were about to leave, Erza stopped them._

"_Mira wait!"_

"_Huh? What now Erza? I'm trying to go on a mission here." Mira said grumpily. She then had a sadistic smile on her face. "Unless of course you wanna fight me, then bring it on you red haired skank!"_

_Erza ignored her challenge which surprised Mira. Usually Erza would counter with something like "White Haired Floozy" but instead she had a hard expression on her face. She walked up to her and put something in her hand. It was a communication Lacrima._

"_Take this with you. I have a feeling that something bad's going to happen, so I want you to take this." Erza explained._

"_I don't need you to worry about me" Mira retorted, about to give the lacrima back to Erza when Elfman spoke._

"_Nee-chan stop it. Erza's just worried about us, it can't hurt to take it along with us."_

_Mira looked at her brother then turned to the object in her hand. It insulted her that Erza gave her this. Did she think that she was weak and needed help? It was a big blow to her pride. However, Erza had a very serious expression on her face. If she ignored her taunts to give her something like this, something must be worrying her. Trusting Erza's instincts, she begrudgingly put the item in her pocket, and left with a huff._

_When the two of them left the Guild, Erza let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. That entire exchange, no matter how short it was, was very tense for Erza. She usually wouldn't help out Mira in any way. However the gut feeling that she's been experiencing made her worry so much that she wasn't in the mood to fight with her. She returned to the guild and finished the remaining of her second mug._

"_What's wrong with you Erza?" Cana suddenly asked. Erza turned to her in surprise. "First you don't stop them from fighting, then you drink, and now you're helping Mira? Is everything alright?" Cana asked worriedly._

_Erza let out a heavy sigh. She had thought that the alcohol was helping her calm her nerves, but it didn't do anything. When Mira left the Guild, Erza felt like there were millions of butterflies in her stomach. Maybe if she told someone, she could feel better._

"_I just have this really bad feeling that something is going to happen. And it might have to do with Mira. But it's not just her I'm worried about. I fear that somehow Elfman, Lisanna, and of all people, Natsu are gonna get involved. I don't want them to get hurt, but I don't know what I can do." Erza explained, feeling a whole lot better. Despite finally confessing her worries, the feeling in her stomach never left. At least she told someone, she would've gone crazy sooner or later._

"_So that explains why you've been acting rather strange today"_

_Both Erza and Cana turned their heads and saw Master Makarov sitting on the bar, crossed legged, eyes closed, and drinking from a mug. He let out a sigh of satisfaction and turned to the two women, opening one eye in the process. _

"_Master…" They both said._

"_Erza, while Mira may be your rival, she is nevertheless, a Fairy Tail Mage. We are all family here, and families look out for each other. While it's nice that you care for her safety, as well as her siblings and Natsu's, you have to believe in her abilities. Mira is an S-Class mage, she can handle herself. Besides, she's going with Natsu, a very powerful mage in his own right, as well as her siblings. Even if something were to happen to her, those three would be there to help her. The bond that those four share is incredible. It gives them the strength they need to overcome any obstacle. The bonds created in this Guild may be strong, but the bond between Natsu and those three is just something else. Don't worry so much about it Erza, she'll be fine." Master told her. Erza smiled, the master always knew what to say to comfort her. He was right; she shouldn't have to worry about her. She may be strong, not that she'll ever admit that to her, but she also had Natsu and her siblings. Those four had a bond that was unbreakable. That bond gives them unimaginable strength to overcome anything in order to protect each other. She had full faith that nothing bad was going to happen to them. With that, the ominous feeling in her stomach disappeared._

_Cana however was not convinced. Erza was acting way too weird today and for a good reason. Usually, Erza's instincts were never wrong. Even though the master said soothing words, it didn't help her like it did with Erza. She took out her cards and proceeded to predict the future. What she got scared her._

_It was late at the Guild. Everyone had gone home after a long day of partying. The only people left were Erza, Gray, and Cana. Cana and Gray were talking to each other while Erza sat in silence, pondering other random things. Erza got up in order to return home when she heard a noise. She went behind the bar and picked up the Guild's communication Lacrima. Erza activated it and saw Mira's figure project over the lacrima. Erza did not think about her worries that plagued her throughout the day, and as a result, she failed to see Mira's expression._

"_Oh Mira, what's up? Is the mission too much for you to handle? I knew I should've come because – "_

"_ERZA!"_

_Erza paused. Had Mira sounded…. Scared? Her tone sounded very scared and… sad? Whatever joke Erza was about to say was gone. Erza's expression turned hard. Mira's cry got the attention of the other two mages in the room._

"_Mira what's wrong? Why do you look so… scared?"_

"_Erza…" Mira tried to form a sentence, but her tears and sobs were making difficult for her to do so. As soon as she said Erza's name, she broke down, crying uncontrollably. Erza stared in shock, whatever happened on that mission must've been awful for Mira to cry like that._

"_Mira, where are you?"_

"_(sob)…(hiccup)… A.. Averia"_

_As soon as she said the location, Erza, Gray, and Cana sprinted out the doors and headed for the train station._

'_I knew something bad was going to happen.'_

_Several hours later, Gray, Cana and Erza arrived at Averia. The town was in shambles due to the Beast's rampage, but the civilians had come back and immediately went to work on repairing the village. The three mages split up to try and find their nakama. Erza went to several construction sites, asking if they had seen any white haired or pink haired mages. Gray knocked on the doors of whatever houses were standing and asked the residents if they had seen the mages that came to the village. Cana went into the business district and asked if they had seen anybody with the Fairy Tail Guild mark. Her search ended when she went into the hospital and found Mira sitting on a chair outside of the ICU._

"_Guys I found her!" Cana called. Her call gathered the attention of Erza, Gray, but most importantly Mira. When the three regroup, they looked at Mira with shock. She had some bandages on her face, her right arm was in a sling, and her eyes were red and puffy. Her facial expression was one filled with sorrow and regret. She teared up when she saw the three and ran up to hug Erza. As soon as she came in contact with Erza, she held her tightly and cried into her shoulders. Erza wrapped her arms around her and whispered soothing words into her ears. After a while, Mira had stopped crying, and Erza wasted no time._

"_Mira, what happened?"_

_Mira, with great difficulty, told them what had happened on the mission: Elfman losing control, Natsu's injuries, and Lisanna and her last words. All three of them took in the news with shock and sadness. They never expected the mission to go so bad for Mira to cry, or for Natsu to be severely injured. The sadness came when Lisanna was mentioned. They had never in a million years expected one of their nakama to die on a mission. Gray stood there in shock over the news he had received. Mira had technically completed her mission, but failed because of her sister's unfortunate end. Though he would never admit it, he was happy for Natsu that he had found someone very special to him, and wished him the best of luck. Erza knew that something was going to happen, but she ignored it. Her instincts were never long about something like this, and yet she did nothing about it. Erza felt ashamed of herself for ignoring such an ominous warning. Cana felt grief, but the levels she of grief she was experiencing was more than she expected. When she tried her Fortune Telling method hours earlier, she predicted that something really bad was going to happen.* The first card that she drew was the Sister Card. That card represented innocence and virtue, the highest level of purity any object can attain. The second card she drew was the Dragon: a powerful being that caused widespread destruction, but had a heart of gold. The final card was the Grim Reaper, an ominous card that forewarned death, or some kind of grave misfortune. Cana deduced that something bad was going to happen to Natsu and Lisanna. However, she was too scared to continue any further, and stopped. She wanted to believe that Natsu and Lisanna would come out of the mission alive and well, but fate was not something you could go against._

_As the four stood there, the doors to the ICU opened and a doctor came out and addressed them._

"_Doctor how are they? Are they going to be alright?" Mira asked, desperation laced in her voice._

_The doctor had a grim expression on his face, which worried the four. "Your brother is going to be fine; he has scars and burns but nothing too serious. He should make a full recovery soon." The four mages let out a sigh of relieve. Elfman was going to be alright. "However," The doctor continued, gathering the attention of the four once again. "Your pink haired friend is not doing so well. He lost most of the right side of his body, lost a significant amount of bad, and has many severe injuries. He is not going to be as fine. These injuries may force him to stop being a mage." The four gasped at the doctor's words. They wanted to say that he was lying, playing a cruel trick on them. The grim expression on his face said otherwise, taking his job very seriously. _

"_Natsu… can't be a mage anymore?" Mira said quietly. How many more lives must she ruin?_

"_No I refuse to accept that! We can take him to Polyusica-san, she can probably do something to help him." Erza said with conviction. Polyusica had given her the artificial eye that she were to this day, she could probably help Natsu with his body._

"_Natsu's too weak for something like that to stop him!" Gray said, not wanting to believe that Natsu had to retire as a mage so early in his life. Cana just stood there not saying anything, too many thoughts wondered about in her mind._

_The doctor smiled at the conviction of the two mages. However this Polyusica person was, she must be one hell of a doctor. He then went back into business mode._

"_I'll prepare the paper work for those two to be transferred at Magnolia Hospital. While you are here, please find a hotel to stay and relax. You are a hero to our village Mira-san, you deserve to rest. The mayor will come by to give you the reward for your mission." With that the doctor left._

"_I don't deserve the reward. I failed." Mira said quietly. Why should she get paid for failing the mission?_

"_Mira…" Erza trailed off. Technically Mira had successfully completed the mission, but the death of Lisanna and the condition of Elfman and Natsu made her think that she failed. "Let's just find us a hotel. The doctor told you to rest." With an arm around Mira, the four of them left the hospital._

_End Flashback_

* * *

It had been five days since then. The guild was at Kardia Cathedral, except for Natsu who couldn't move for obvious reasons. The depressing mood was only made more depressing with the heavy rain. All of the guild members stood there in the rain, with somber expressions all over their face. Most of the Guild members were crying, such as Laki, Bisca, Romeo, Levy, and obviously, Mira and Elfman. Others just stood there, not showing any emotion other than sadness for the loss of their nakama. Master Makarov took a step forward and proceeded to give his eulogy. He looked at Lisanna's gravestone, which had a giant Cat on it, which was her favorite animal.

"Fairy Tail was blessed to have someone as nurturing as caring as Lisanna Strauss. Her age betrayed the wisdom that she carried with her. She always gave comforting words to anyone that needed an ear. Lisanna was blessed by Mother Nature with her beauty and her loving nature. She was like the mother to the Guild that everyone wanted. Her heart was endless, just like the blue sky. She transformed into the spirits that she used to protect her family. She was…. Like real family to me…." Makarov started to tear up during his speech and when it ended, he let out a few tears. His shaking body was enough evidence for everyone to see that he was crying. The Guild finally let out their sadness and cried with their master.

* * *

Magnolia Hospital

Polyusica frowned at the sight that lay before her. Natsu was heavily bandaged, with many vital limbs missing from his body. This was why she hated humans. They were willing to do so much to hurt each other. In the end, everybody gets hurt. Polyusica had come upon the request of Master Makarov, who wanted Natsu to heal and be given another chance at being a mage. She initially refused, but after hearing what had happened to him, she gave in. This was another reason why she hated humans: they want everything to be done their way. She looked over at Natsu and examined his injuries. With time, his injuries would go away. However, it would take time for her to create prosthetic limbs and an artificial eye for him to use. Getting used to them alone would take a lot of time. She returned to her cottage to start her work.

* * *

July 30, X782

Mira and Happy were at Magnolia Hospital, wanting to visit Natsu. The doctors and told them that his injuries were healing very nicely. The large amount of magic he had and his Dragon Slayer Magic made it so that he recovered faster than the average human. Mira opened the door to Natsu's room when she saw that no one was inside. She and Happy got worried when she saw that the hospital window was open. She quickly left the hospital and searched around town to find him. While she rushed out of the hospital, she didn't notice that Happy was still there, looking at the window. He flew out the window, having an idea was to where Natsu went. Mira checked the Guild to see if he was there, but he wasn't. There she got Elfman, Gray, and Erza to help her look for him. They searched the entire town for hours and they still couldn't find him.

"Where is he?" Mira wondered. As she said that, it started to rain.

It took Natsu a long time, with one leg and all, but he finally made it to his destination. He was at his and Lisanna's secret house. The house they made when they raised Happy together and acted like a family. It had started raining and Natsu was getting sick of it. He started collecting many rocks and sticks around him. As he was getting ready to start he felt a presence approach him. He turned around and saw Happy, flying in the air, with a small, sad smile on his face. He knew what Natsu was doing, and without saying anything, he joined in. Natsu smiled, for the first time in a long time. He turned to his work and let out a sigh. This would take _hours_, more so than if he had both arms. But love makes you do crazy things, doesn't it?

Back at the Guild, Mira was still distressing over Natsu's whereabouts. He wasn't in the Guild, or any place in town that she knew of. She figured he was at the Cathedral, wanting to see Lisanna, but he wasn't there. Mira, Elfman, Gray, and Erza were sitting at a table thinking about where Natsu could be when Elfman suddenly had an idea.

"I know where he is!" Elfman exclaimed.

"You do? Where?" Mira asked.

"Follow me!" Elfman said. The four of them left to wherever Elfman was taking them.

* * *

Natsu and Happy took deep breaths as they finished their work, In front of them stood a gravestone made out of the various resources from the forest around him. They stared at the gravestone for a long time, before Natsu reached into his pocket. He pulled out the last thing he had to remember Lisanna by, her engagement ring. The ring that she threw at him during their argument, their last conversation. Natsu placed the ring in front of the tombstone.

"I never thought that I would ever see this ring off of your finger." Natsu started with a shay voice. "We were so happy together, and I had to ruin it. I guess that's all I'm good for, destroying stuff. Everybody always complains that I go overboard." Natsu felt the tears forming in his eyes. He brought his only hand up to brush them away. "Damn it, the rain is getting into my eyes." Natsu gave of a quiet laugh. "What's the point? You could always tell when I was lying. I could never hide anything from you." The tears started to fall down his face. Lisanna was his best friend among his best friends. She understood him in a way that no one, not even Igneel or even himself knew. "Did you mean what you said back then?" He was referring to the thing she said that struck him the hardest.

"_If you could just grow up and become an adult, I could die a happy woman!"_

"Did you really mean it? Was I really that much of a child to you?" Natsu remember all of the things his Guildmates had said to him before. They called him childish for starting many of the fights in the Guild. They called him reckless and out of control for causing more destruction than anybody else in the Guild. Yet they all loved him for it. But what about Lisanna? Did she not like that part of him? Did she want him to change that much? Well, if that's what she wanted, then he'll do it.

"You must hate me from all the way up there. But it doesn't matter. I'm still gonna say what I should've said back then. I'm sorry and I love you."

Natsu turned around to leave when he heard a voice.

"Natsu!"

He saw Mira, Elfman, Gray and Erza running up to him. When they approached him, what they saw shocked them. There was a gravestone made for Lisanna, in front of the house that they made. But what shocked them the most were Natsu's eyes. His eyes were cold, a look he only used whenever he was extremely angry. The four unconsciously took a step back, unsure as to why Natsu had that look. Mira took a step forward.

"Natsu, what are you doing out of the hospital? You need to go back." Mira said. Natsu said nothing and returned his gaze back to the gravestone. The four were shocked at Natsu's unusual silence, and they were starting to get worried.

"Natsu listen to Mira, you shouldn't be walking around like this." Erza said, hoping that he would be scared and listen to her like always. She was met with the same silence as before. His silence was angering her.

"Natsu! Do as I say and go –"

"Shut the hell up Erza!"

The four gasped at his reaction. Natsu had told Erza to shut up. He had never yelled at Erza before, or done anything to piss her off, fearing that he would get beat. But the Natsu standing in front of them was different. The tone of voice he used was cold, devoid of any emotion. His eyes portrayed the same thing, but the look could kill. What happened to the Natsu that was energetic and always smiling?

"Oi Flame-Brain what the hell is the matter with you Erza and Mira are worried about you, at least have the decency to –"

"Fuck off Gray; I'm not in the mood."

Gray reeled back in shock. He had called Natsu "Flame Brain" yet he didn't retort with any kind of insult. The tone of voice that he used frightened him; this was not the Natsu that he knew. Seeing the situation at hand, Mira started walking toward Natsu.

"Everyone, could you go back to the Guild? I want to talk to Natsu alone." Mira said.

Elfman and Gray were about to object when Erza stopped them. Her look told them not to do anything, so they didn't. They reluctantly turned around, and returned to the Guild.

Mira stood behind Natsu and Happy. She figured that he was still upset over her death, so she thought she could talk to him about it. She hoped that by talking to him, he would release his pent up emotions and return to being the happy-go-lucky Natsu they all knew.

"Natsu – "Mira started, but was interrupted by Natsu.

"You must hate me Mira." Natsu said. At these words Mira gasped. Why should she hate Natsu?

"I failed so badly trying to protect Lisanna. I promised you that I would protect her with my life, and yet I failed. How could you not hate me?" Natsu said. Mira took in these words in shock. Yes, he had promised her to protect her, but it wasn't his fault that she died.

"How could you say that Natsu? It's not your fault that she died! I could never hate you!" Mira screamed at him, tears rolling down her face. How could he blame himself for what happened? He was trying his best to protect her. If he wanted someone to blame, it should be her.

"Mira do you know what our last conversation was about?" Natsu asked her. Mira tried to remember what Lisanna had told her before she died.

"Not really, Lisanna told me bits and pieces but I don't know the whole story." She told him honestly. She was curious as to what happened, but due to recent events she had to downplay her curiosity.

"Lisanna and I… had a fight. Our fight got so bad that I called off the wedding and she told me that she hated me. I can't believe that I had done all of that. I mean, my last words to her, were 'Crazy Bitch.'"

"At least your last words weren't for her to bring back fish." Happy said, tears streaming down his face.

"I called my fiancé a crazy bitch and called off the wedding. I would make a terrible husband Mira. You have every reason to hate me Mira." Natsu told her. Mira listened to what Natsu had to say, finally understanding what Lisanna's last words meant. They had a fight, and both of them felt awful afterwards. But they weren't able to patch up their relationship because of her death. And Natsu blamed himself for it.

"Natsu, it's not your fault that she died. If anything, it's my fault." Mira said.

"DON'T SAY THAT!" Natsu yelled, scaring Mira. "I'm the one that called off the wedding, I'm the one that called her a crazy bitch, I'm the one that couldn't protect her. She even said it herself. She said that if could grow up and become an adult, she could die a happy woman." Hearing those words made Mira gasp. Did Lisanna really say that to Natsu? Is that why he was acting so strange?

"Mira, I know that you blame yourself for what happened. But please, for my sake, blame me. It's the only way I'll ever come to terms with what happened."

"Natsu I told you, you're not at fault here, I am!"

"Cut the crap Mira! I know that you're blaming yourself when you don't need to. Lisanna would hate to see you like this. She would want you to feel happy. Please Mira. I accept full responsibility for Lisanna's death. Hate me with everything that you have!"

"Natsu I…" Mira wanted to retort, but she couldn't it. Natsu was right, she was blaming herself, but for good reason. She was the oldest sibling, she had to protect Elfman and Lisanna, and she failed. She wanted Lisanna to attend to her dream wedding and she failed. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop blaming herself. But something in her snapped. Subconsciously, Mira wanted to blame the incident on someone. She couldn't accept that Lisanna had died or that she couldn't do anything about it. She wanted someone to blame but she repressed the urge and blamed herself. However, after hearing what Natsu had to say about what happened, that urge came back stronger than ever.

"Natsu how could you! You were her fiancé and you let this happen to her?! You were supposed to protect her! You promised her! You promised me! How dare you call off her dream wedding! You know how much time she spent trying to get everything perfect for her big day?! How dare you Natsu, HOW DARE YOU! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT NATSU! I HATE YOU!" Mira took big breathes, then she gasped in horror. She brought her hand to her mouth and realized what she had said. She looked toward Natsu and was about to apologize when she saw him giving a small, sad smile.

"Thanks Mira, I really needed to hear that." It was strange what Natsu was thinking. Usually when someone goes off on a tirade like that the recipient of all those insults would very hurt emotionally. Natsu however, was filled with relief. He wanted someone to blame him for everything that has happened. It pained him to see Mira blaming herself when she didn't need to. When she suddenly yelled at him in anger and frustration, he felt happy that someone was blaming him. Mira didn't have to carry the guilt of someone close to her dying.

Happy stood in silence watching the exchange. He was shocked that Mira suddenly burst out in anger and blamed Natsu even though she was blaming herself ever since. However, it was stranger to see Natsu accept it with a smile. He was worried for his friend.

"Happy, can you take me back to the Hospital?"

Happy hesitated, before he picked up Natsu and flew towards the Hospital, leaving Mira by herself. Mira stood there in shock. She didn't know how to feel. Oddly for her she felt a lot better after yelling at Natsu, but she also felt horrible at the same time. Did she really want someone to blame? Was Natsu the one at fault, or was it her? Sure, Lisanna would want for her to be happy, but at what cost?

With all of these questions in mind, Mira returned to the Guilt, confused as to what to do.

* * *

**Chapter two is finally done! Honestly this has been on my "To Do" list for quite some time. Damn me and my Laziness.**

**Now I want to ask all of you a question. I'm thinking about whether or Not I should make this just a NaLi fic. I was thinking of doing a harem, but instead of the Fairy Tail girls, except for Erza, I was going to do a harem based on the girls introduced in the Grand Magic Games. But therein lies a problem, their ages. Should I make them to be around Natsu's age, or at least 7 years older than him? Here are the girls I thought about having Natsu with in a harem.**

**Erza Scarlet**

**Jenny Realight (19, 26)**

**Kagura Mikazuchi (17, 24-26)**

**Yukino Aguria (17, 24-26)**

**While this fic will mostly be about NaLi, I can't help but wonder what kind of relationship Natsu could make out of the three non Fairy Tail mages I picked.**

**If you guys could be so kind, could you PM me your votes whether or not I should turn this into a harem fic? If you want it to be a harem pic, please also tell me what ages I should make those three. I'll stop the polls by Wednesday.**

**Bye-bye!**


	3. Chapter 3: The Changes One Year Brings

Author's Note: Hey Guys! Insanelee here and I'm back with another chapter!

I have some quick things I want to address before we get started. First off, I have absolutely no knowledge of the Japanese Language. I have a fight scene here (which I hope you enjoy) and I use the Japanese names for the attacks since they sound cooler. However, I made some original attacks with not so original names. If there is anybody out there who has knowledge of the Japanese language and likes my story, I would appreciate if you could help me out here somehow. A PM would do nicely but any type of communication would work for me.

Also, after this chapter and I special one that I'm planning, I'm gonna start the story where the anime/manga start. Three chapters of buildup are enough I think for a story. I also plan on making changes to the story so that my story may sound a tiny bit original. Some things may be introduced earlier than later, new attacks, different fights, new guild member maybe? ;)

I do have some original ideas in my head so be prepared when they come.

In addition, I'm also going to be making another story as a side project to this. I'm going to make a NatsuxJenny fic called the Pegasus and the Fairy. I see a lot of pairings for Natsu that involve the girls of Fairy Tail, but it would be nice to see one with an obscure character like Jenny. We don't know much about her and there aren't any stories about her on the site yet, so I intend on making the first one.

Enough with this author's note, on with the story!

Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima does.

One Year Later

August 1, X783

It was a typical day at the Fairy Tail Guild. People were talking, laughing, drinking, partying, and overall having fun. In spite of everyone having fun, there was one person who was bored out of their minds: Mirajane Strauss. Mira was waiting for Erza to come back on her mission. Erza accused her of stealing her strawberry cheesecake, but before she could do anything, she had to leave on a mission. As she sat at the guild waiting for Erza, she decided to think about what had happened the past year.

After the incident a year ago, Mirajane had changed in some aspects. Personality wise, Mira _**almost **_did a complete 180. The tomboyish menace of a woman was gone. It her place was a sweet, caring, and loving woman. Instead of being the Demon, she was the motherly figure of Fairy Tail. However, that didn't mean that she still wasn't temperamental. While she cared dearly for her Guild members, somehow Erza managed to piss off Mira, and they would fight whenever they had the chance, which made people wonder if Mira really changed. The incident with Lisanna motivated Mira; she wanted to protect all of her nakama from any danger. It affected her so much that her personality changed, making people question if she really was Mirajane. She wasn't terrorizing them, she was caring for them. It unnerved everyone for a while, but as the year went by, everyone got used to it.

With her tomboyish-ness gone, Mira no longer dressed in very revealing, Gothic clothing. Now she wore a long, sleeveless maroon dress. Her bosom had large, pink bow on it, with several similarly colored trimmings that frame the rather ample neckline, acting as straps, and circle around the waist. The pleated skirt of the dress reached down to her ankles. She also wore high-heeled shoes that match her dress, has a small chain necklace with a blue oval gem attached to it circling her neck, and sports a bracelet made of white flowers circling her right wrist. She also had her hair tied in a ponytail that pointed upward.

A year has brought many changes to Mira, but the most evident change was with her strength. The already powerful Mirajane became exceptionally strong. After what happened last year, she vowed never to beat weak again, and promised herself to protect everybody that she cared about. You would think that a horrifying incident like that would hinder Mira's abilities. At first she did lose her will to fight, but after that night with Natsu, her will came back stronger than ever, which confused her. She had initially blamed herself for what had happened to Lisanna, but after talking with Natsu and putting the blame all on him, she felt better. That was odd for Mira because instead of feeling worse for blaming one of her nakama just to make her feel better about herself, it actually did make her feel better. Did she really deep down want someone to blame for her failure? Natsu was willing to accept full responsibility and goaded her into blaming him. She lashed out on him, but realizing what she did, she tried to apologize when he thanked her and left. Since then, she hasn't talked much for Natsu, partly because she still blames herself for Lisanna's death, despite what happened that day, and because she avoided, unable to forgive herself for blaming Natsu for something that wasn't his fault.

Speaking of Natsu, in just one year he managed to accomplish great feats. It took him two months, but Natsu had adjusted to using the prosthetic limbs Polyusica had made for him. The prosthetics were entirely metallic, but highly resilient to fire, making it perfect for Natsu and his magic. What's more is that these prosthetics were made with a special lacrima that were able to contain magic, thus allowing Natsu's magic reserves to circulate through these limbs like normal. Magic circulates through the body just like blood. If a limb is detached from the body, the blood, or in this case, magic, stops flowing there, reducing the maximum capacity. However, the special lacrima helped Natsu gain most of his magical reserves back. The rigorous training he put himself through allowed his maximum magical capacity to increase, making him stronger. It took a while, but with his great determination, Natsu overcame the difficulties and started moving normally again.

The greatest accomplishment for Natsu was that he successfully became an S-Class mage. Despite his inactivity for two months and what happened with Lisanna, he was chosen as a candidate for an S-Class promotion. He along with seven others, traveled to the Guild's holy grounds, Tenroujima, where the exams would be held. Mira had a smile on her face when she remembered what Master told her.

Flashback

_December 16, X782_

_Natsu and his partner Happy stood in front of eight paths, labeled A-H. They were the first out of the eight pairs of contestants to arrive at the island, thanks to Happy's flying abilities. Natsu looked at each path with intensity. Four of them are connected to each other, so four teams would have to fight each other until one of them loses, three of them would lead to a current S-Class mage, and the last one was the lucky path, where no obstacles stood in their way. After carefully thinking about it, Natsu took path E._

"_Happy, I'm going with path E" Natsu announced._

"_Aye! E for Erza right Natsu?" Happy asked his partner. He was hoping that Natsu would've picked path F. He hoped that path F would have been the quiet path, the good one. After all "Fish" begins with F, and that was a great thing, according to his logic, which surprisingly would've worked had Natsu known._

"_Well, I have a feeling someone is going to be there." Natsu said._

_As Natsu walked into path E, a magic barrier formed between him and the entrance, preventing him from leaving. Natsu continued walking, until he saw himself in a big space. Natsu noticed that someone was in here. He knew that he had picked a path with an S-Class wizard. Several magical balls of light floated around them. They all went towards the hidden person, and revealed this person's identity. Natsu and Happy's eyes had widened. Natsu honestly never would've expected that this person would be waiting here. Fairy Tail had five S-Class mages. Three of them were present on the island: Erza, Mira, and the one standing in front of him. The other two were off doing their own things, unable to attend. However, he would've never thought that the person in front of him would have ever come to proctor the exam. Natsu stood there, still shocked that the path he took led him to the mage he least expected._

_Mystogan._

"_Mystogan…" Natsu trailed off._

"_You've come Natsu." Mystogan greeted._

_Usually, Natsu would've been cheering, happy that he was getting a chance to fight Mystogan. However, the new Natsu instead just had a blank look on his face._

"_So you're my opponent, huh?" Natsu questioned._

_Natsu didn't show it, but he was getting excited. He knew that while Erza and Mirajane were strong, they didn't compare to Mystogan. He was in a league of his own. There were several stories detailing his incredible strength around Fiore. Natsu was determined to defeat him and become an S-Class Mage._

_Mystogan pulled out a staff and placed it in front of him._

"_Come at me when you're ready."_

"_Happy!"_

"_Aye!" Happy flew to the side, not wanting to get in between the fight._

_Natsu lit his left hand on fire, and launched himself towards Mystogan. He threw a __**Karyu no Tekken (Fire Dragon's Iron Fist)**__ but Mystogan dodged the attack, fully expecting it. Natsu smirked, as he used his prosthetic hand to land a stream of fire at Mystogan. Anticipating this attack, Mystogan used his __**Air Magic**__ to turn his body into a veil of mist, completely avoiding Natsu's attack. He reappeared in front of Natsu, and threw a fist at him, which Natsu quickly blocked._

"_Impressive reactions" Mystogan commented._

_Natsu went for a headbutt but Mystogan pushed himself away from Natsu. He gathered one of his staves and held it out in front of him._

_**Nijumahojin: Ichibugin (Two Layered Magic Circle: One Mist Silver)**_

_Two magic circles of different sizes appeared in front of Mystogan, the smaller one in front of him and the larger one in front of the smaller one. A bright light shot of out the smaller magic circle. It went through the larger magic circle and the light charged at him. Natsu covered his eyes to prevent the light from bothering him and dodged out of the way, making the light crash into the wall, creating a giant hole in it. He thought he had dodged that light, when he had noticed that there was a small scratch on his arm and that a rock that wasn't in the light's line of fire was cut into several pieces._

'_What the hell kind of attack was that?' Natsu thought to himself. He saw that the light was coming straight at him, so naturally he dodged. He knew he was fast enough to dodge that attack, but where did the scratch come from and how did that rock get cut?_

'_A bright light that cuts… That's it!'_

"_I get it now. The light coming out of the first magic circle gets separated by the second magic circle, powerful enough to cut an enemy. But because it's a bright light, the enemy can't see that the light has separated. I am right, Mystogan?"_

"_Very impressive observation, Natsu." Mystogan complimented. This was the first time anyone had noticed this trick. He had to admit, when he had heard that Natsu had changed, he didn't exactly believe. He knew that Natsu for as long as he knew was always a rambunctious mage that even he liked to be around with. Despite his limited interaction with him, he knew what was going on between him and Lisanna. He had heard that Lisanna had died, but couldn't attend the funeral. The Natsu in front of him was no longer the childish mage that he knew back then. This Natsu was a calm, levelheaded, observant Natsu._

_Natsu put his fists together, igniting them. He started hard at Mystogan. He didn't know much about Mystogan, but he did know that he was as strong as Laxus, and that he primarily used his magic staves to fight. Come to think of it, he had never seen Mystogan without those staves._

'_Those staves are becoming a pain in the ass. I gotta get rid of them somehow' Natsu thought. He knew what he had to do; he just didn't know how to do it. The two mages stared at each other, ready for them to make a move._

_Natsu rushed towards Mystogan, his leg on fire. He lifted his leg to kick him._

"_**Karyu no Kagitsume!" (Fire Dragon's Claw)**_

_Mystogan deftly blocked with his arm and swatted Natsu away. As Natsu was flying he took in a big breath of air, his cheeks enlarging._

"_**Karyu no Hoko!" (Fire Dragon's Roar)**_

_Mystogan anticipated this, and put three of his staves in front of him. He made of hand motions before calling out the name of his attack._

"_**Sanjumahojin: Kyosui" (Three Layered Magic Circle: Mirror Water)**_

_Natsu's __**Karyu no Hoko **__collided with a shield that was __**Kyosui.**__ The __**Hoko **__was deflected right back at Natsu, surprising him. Thinking on his feet, Natsu gathered fire magic on his feet and propelled himself out of the way. The smoke that was created from the impact gave Natsu an opportunity to create a ball of fire and throw it at Mystogan. Mystogan moved slightly to his side to dodge Natsu's attack. It was a small fireball that couldn't possibly do any real damage to him. What was he planning? Snapping out of his thoughts, he gathered all of his staves and put them in front of him._

"_**Matenrō**__**" (Skyscraper)**_

_Natsu felt the ground shake and before he knew it, the ground was destroyed. Oddly enough, Natsu was still standing, somehow unaffected by gravity. He then noticed that he was going higher and higher until he reached space. He looked around him to find Mystogan, but instead find a giant rip in space. The rip opened, and out came a giant monster._

"_What the hell is that?!" Natsu yelled._

_Tentacles come out of the rip and entangled Natsu. Natsu had never faced anything like this. What kind of magic was this? He was in space, fighting a giant monster. What happened to Mystogan? As the giant monster was about to come out of the rip in space, Natsu engulfed himself in his own fire. He thought that this would get rid of the tentacles, but instead, glass like shards broke around him, bringing him back to the battlefield with Mystogan. He took deep breaths, trying to figure out what the hell just happened._

"_I see, that was an illusion. You get me there Mystogan, that was one hell of a magic show. But your little tricks aren't enough to defeat me!" Natsu declared._

"_Oh really? I suggest you pay more attention to your surrounding" Mystogan advised. Natsu looked confused, until he noticed a bright light above him. He looked up and saw five magic circles of varying sizes above him. He smirked when he realized that it was too late to move, but at least he had an ace._

"_You should follow your own advice Mystogan" Natsu said. It was Mystogan's turn to be confused. He looked around him and saw that a giant red magic circle was underneath him. His eyes had widened in shock._

'_The fireball…' Mystogan realized. Judging from the time that elapsed since he performed __**Matenrō, **__it was probably too late for him to dodge._

"_Take this! __**Karyu no Hibashira!" (Fire Dragon's Fire Pillar)**_

"_**Gojumahojin: Mikagura" (Five Layered Magic Circle: Sacred Song)**_

_Two pillars, one of white light, and another of fire, came out of the magic circles. Natsu screamed in pain while Mystogan grunted in pain. Both attacks were very powerful, injuring both mages. Natsu was on one knee, panting heavily, while Mystogon hunched over, doing the same thing._

"_Not bad, Natsu."_

"_You're as strong as everyone says you are."_

_Natsu smirked, and he assumed that Mystogan did the same. This fight was starting to become fun. Never before had Natsu fought someone so strong. He had challenged Erza and Gildartz many times, but Mystogan was completely different. Erza used __**Konso (Requip)**__, something that he had seen many times before, so he knew what to expect. Gildartz never even used magic against him, but he knew what kind of magic he used. Mystogan on the other hand used unorthodox magic. He conjured weird spells that had multiple magic circles and was very versatile in his spells. No one had really seen Mystogan fight, and it made Natsu excited that he was seeing Mystogan's abilities. He got up and prepared himself._

_Mystogan was impressed with Natsu. __**Mikagura **__was one of his strongest spells, yet Natsu was able to withstand it. He had no doubt that Natsu was strong enough to be an S-Class mage. His cunning was also something to admire, hitting him with that __**Hibashira **__attack when he least expected it. His observational skills were top notch, figuring out the properties of __**Ichibugin **__and __**Matenrō **__was an illusionary attack, though he might've been lucky in dispelling it. However, strength was not the only thing that made mages S-Class. He had to find out whether Natsu had the heart and courage._

_Natsu lit his hands on fire and gathered them. The two separate fire balls combined into one giant fireball. Natsu raised It above his head._

"_**Karyu no Koen!" (Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame)**_

_He launched his __**Koen **__at the area in front of Mystogan's feet. Mystogan jumped back in order to prevent getting hit. Unfortunately he couldn't grab his staves, and the explosion from the attack made him unable to find them. He covered his face to protect it from the debris when he suddenly saw Natsu in front of him. Natsu hand his hands and feet on fire, having prepared __**Tekken and Kagitsume.**__ Natsu threw several punches and kicks towards Mystogan, who expertly blocked all of them. He threw punches and kicks of his own toward Natsu. Natsu, being a master of hand to hand combat, managed to block his attacks and attempted to counter. Each of their fists collided with each other while each of their other hands held tightly grasped each other in a struggle for power. They stared at each other long and hard._

"_I must admit Natsu, you've grown strong." Mystogan complimented. Natsu stared at him. Part of his plan was working; he got Mystogan away from his staves. Now came the hard part, how to keep it. He needed to find an opportunity to destroy the staves, but Mystogan was a very formidable opponent. Now that he was up close with Mystogan, he had noticed something: He had never seen Mystogan's face before. It was always hidden behind that mask of his. Maybe…_

_Natsu quickly brought up his knee and hit Mystogan in the stomach. He got his left hand and clenched his face, gathering fire magic. Mystogan's eyes widened in shock. Natsu smirked as he released his attack. The magic gathered in his hand exploded, sending Mystogan flying backwards._

'_Now's my chance!' Natsu thought. He gathered magic into his hands, creating a fireball. He threw the fireball at the location where Mystogan's five staves were._

"_**Karyu no Koen!"**_

_Natsu threw the fireball at the staves, confident that his plan will work. The fireball exploded upon contact with the ground, forcing Happy, who was watching everything in shock, to hide for cover. Natsu waited to see whether or not his plan had worked. Unfortunately for him, he forgot about Mystogan, so he didn't see him using his __**Air Magic**__. The smoke cleared and Natsu widened his eyes. Mystogan was standing there, with his mask off, and with four of his staves. Natsu had managed to destroy one of Mystogan's staves, which was huge of him. Now he couldn't use __**Mikagura**__, a big plus for Natsu. Natsu stared at Mystogan's face. He had blue hair, dark eyes and a tattoo over his right eye. Natsu could've sworn that he looked familiar, but focused his attention on the battle._

"_That was a pretty smart move Natsu." Mystogan complimented. He didn't try to hide his face. With no one other than Natsu, there really wasn't a need to hide it. Besides, Natsu didn't really care for things such as a person's face, even if it was Mystogan._

"_So that's what you look like" Natsu commented. Seeing Mystogan's face was a pretty exciting thing for him because no one knew what he looked like. But seeing how he was in the middle of a fight, he had to think of a way to destroy the rest of the four staves._

"_Tell me Natsu, why do you want to become an S-Class?" Mystogan asked, bringing Natsu out of his reverie. Natsu stared at Mystogan long and hard. He had his reasons to become an S-Class. Like everyone else, he wanted to be a powerful and famous mage representing his guild. However, he had a more personal reason._

"_If you defeat me I'll tell you" Natsu said cockily. Nothing was going to stop him from becoming an S-Class mage. Everything was for her sake. With the last bit of energy that he had, Natsu became desperate to win. He didn't care what he had to do, he just wanted to win. Natsu gathered the rest of his magic and surrounded himself in fire._

"_**Metsuryu Ougi: Guren: Bakuenjin!" (Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Crimson Lotus: Exploding Flame Blade)**_

_Natsu gathered the rest of his energy and twisted himself, creating a powerful vortex of fire. Mystogan widened his eyes at the magic Natsu was giving off. He sensed that this attack was very powerful, so he prepared himself._

"_**Sanjumahojin: Kyosui!"**_

_Mystogan summoned his reflective shield to protect him from the attack. What he hadn't expected was for the attack the crack the shield and hit him. While most of the attack was deflected back to Natsu, the attack was still strong enough to crack the __**Kyosui**__ and hit Mystogan. Both mages got hit with the attack, and fell to the ground. After a tense moment, Mystogan got up, with Natsu following shortly. Mystogan stood on his feet while Natsu was on one knee._

"_It's time to end this Natsu. I have to know why you want to be an S-Class or else I can't pass you!"_

_Mystogan placed the fours staves in front of him and made hand signals. A magic seal formed in front of the four staves._

"_**Yonjumahojin: Kyoka Suigetsu" (Four Layered Magic Circle: Mirror Flower Water Moon)**_

_A bright light blinded Natsu, so he shielded his eyes. When the light was gone, Natsu lowered his arms and looked around in shock. Instead of being on Tenroujima, Natsu was in Averia; the town where that mission took place. He looked around and noticed that everything was exactly the way he remembered it. The town was on fire and people were evacuating. His eyes widened his realization. If he was here, then Lisanna should be here, alive! He ran as fast as he could and arrived at the cliff where everything happened. He saw Lisanna standing in front of the Beast, arms spread and talking to it. She was beautiful as ever. He didn't seem to notice that Mira and his past self were there, he only focused on Lisanna._

"_Now let's go home, Elf-nichan!"_

_At these words, Natsu ran as fast as he could. If he was here, then he could save Lisanna and apologize for everything. He ran faster when he saw that the Beast raised its arm. He jumped towards Lisanna, about to push her out of the way, when something he did not expect happened._

_Hhe phased right through her. _

_He phased right through her body and landed ungracefully on the ground. He had a confused expression on his face before he turned around and saw what he didn't want to see happen again. Lisanna was sent flying by the Beast. Natsu stared in shock over what just transpired. He couldn't save Lisanna, again. He was right there but he couldn't do anything about it. He thought he had a second chance, but instead, it was a cruel trick played by Mystogan._

"_LISANNNNNNNNNNNAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAA!"_

_Natsu cried in agony. He brought his hands to his head and put his head down. As he was crying, the background dissipated and he was back at Tenroujima, though he didn't notice. Mystogan stood there, watching Natsu._

"_Why do you want to be an S-Class, Natsu?" He asked again._

_It took Natsu, but after some sobs and some sniffles, he answered._

"_I...(sob)…I want.. to…(sob)… to protect everybody. I… (sob)… don't want anything like that to… (sob)… ever happen again."_

_Mystogan smiled at his answer. Despite his underhanded tactic, he finally understood why Natsu wanted to become an S-Class mage. He wanted to protect everybody so that no one could get hurt. He didn't want anyone to suffer the fate Lisanna had gone through. Mystogan looked at Natsu and thought. He was smart, strong, and he had the heart to protect his friends. He came to a decision._

"_Natsu, you've shown me that you have the qualities of becoming an S-Class mage, you pass."_

_Natsu looked at him in surprise. Words could not describe the myriad of emotions he was feeling. On the one hand, he was incredibly pissed that Mystogan would do something so low just to get an answer. Incredibly pissed wasn't enough to describe his anger. Nothing was. But on the other hand, he was happy. He had passed the first part of the exam and his dreams were coming closer. He wiped the tears off his face and walked towards the exit. He stopped next to Mystogan._

"_Thanks"_

"_Don't thank me Natsu, just make her proud."_

_End Flashback_

After his battle with Mystogan, Natsu had completed the second part of the trial, which was to find the grave of the First Master. What interested her the most about this part was what she, Erza, and Master had witnessed.

Flashback

_Natsu walked through an endless forest before he found something that caught his eye. He saw six pillars of rock and felt strangely calm around it. That's when he realized that he had found the grave of Mavis Vermillion. After five hours of fighting giant monsters, and navigating a giant forest, he had finally found the grave that will help him accomplish his goal. He walked towards the grave and waited for Makarov to come. Speaking of which, Makarov waited nearby for someone to find the grave. He was bored waiting for five-six hours, so he brought lots of beer and magazines of girls with "NICE BODIES!" as he would say. However, after the first hour, Mira and Erza joined him. He noticed that Mystogan wasn't there. He assumed that he went back to the Guild and continued with his reclusive ways. Makarov was about indulge himself in an erotic fantasy when Mira snatched the magazine he was reading and burned it. He saw that Erza had burned the rest of his stash, and cried to himself. Both women gave him fierce glares for his perverted ways and gave him a warning before they went back to waiting. After four hours Makarov had noticed that Natsu made it to the grave. He was about to congratulate Natsu when both he and Natsu heard something._

"_You've finally come, Natsu"_

_Natsu looked everywhere to find the source of the voice but he couldn't. _

"_Who's there?"_

"_Me silly."_

_Natsu turned around and find a petite blonde with wavy hair that was incredibly long, large green eyes, wearing a frilly pink layered robe with a red ribbon tied as a bow in the front and strange wing like accessories on her ears, and barefoot. The sudden appearance of the girl made Natsu jump in fright, where did this girl come from? From a distance, Erza and Mira looked on with shock. That was the First Master? She was nothing they expected. Makarov on the other hand, watched with interest, what did Mavis want with Natsu?_

"_Who are you?" Natsu asked. At his question, Mavis frowned, looking… disappointed?_

'_He really doesn't remember.' She thought sadly. She gave a small, sad smile and answered his question._

"_For now I'm Fairy Tail's First Master, Mavis Vermillion." She replied with a smile. Natsu looked at her in confusion, what did she mean by for now? As he was thinking that, her last sentence processed in Natsu's mind._

"_You're the First Master?!" Natsu pointed at her in shock. Honestly this was not what he expected. Makarov, Erza, and Mira simultaneously face palmed at Natsu's reaction. Whether he matured or not, Natsu still had a tendency to over react._

"_Why? Were you expecting something else?" Mavis playfully asked angry, putting her hands to her hips and leaned towards Natsu. Natsu backed away in fright, this was the first master he was talking to and he just inadvertently insulted her._

"_No! I mean… I.. I uh… Uh… I" Natsu stammered on his words, which made Mavis giggle._

"_Calm down, I was just kidding." She reassured him. Natsu sighed in relief. The First Master wasn't angry with him. But a thought came into his mind._

"_Wait a minute aren't you supposed to be dead?" Natsu asked._

'_Now he notices?!' The three mages thought incredulously. Old habits die hard for Natsu. Mavis just giggled again._

"_Of course I'm dead. The Fairy Tail stamp on your shoulder is imbued with my __**Ethereal Magic.**__ Only those with that mark can see me." She explained with a smile on her face._

_Natsu nodded in understanding. It felt incredible being in the presence of the First Master. She gave off a warm, loving air that made him feel safe. A thought came into his head._

"_Why are talking to me with a body? Couldn't you have just used your voice like before?" Natsu asked, curious as to why she would too something complicated for a simple conversation._

"_Because I'm bored." She said simply. The four mages face faulted at her answer. She manifested a body to talk to someone out of boredom? Her personality matches that of a Fairy Tail mage, that's for sure._

"_It gets boring talking to people with a ghostly voice. It feels nice to move in a body again." She said as she did a little twirl. The mages giggled at her antics. She really was a mage of Fairy Tail._

"_You've come a long way, Natsu. I'm so proud of you. I'm sure your father would be proud as well." Mavis said with a smile. At her words, Natsu's eyes had widened. His father? How did she know Igneel?_

"_You know Igneel? Where is he? Can you tell me?" Natsu asked desperately. He wanted to know where Igneel was. He wanted to know why he left; he wanted to be with him again. Mavis gave a sad smile at his questions._

"_When the time is right, I'll tell you everything you need to know, Natsu." With that, her body disappeared. Natsu stared at the spot where Mavis stood. When the time was right? When would that be? He was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't notice the three mages approach him. _

"_Congratulations Natsu!" Makarov yelled, bringing him out of his reverie. "You have shown the qualities of an S-Class mage. You have shown great strength, great intellect somehow, and a loving heart. You are as of now, an Official S-Class Mage of Fairy Tail!"_

_End Flashback_

Mira pondered about the relationship with Natsu and Mavis, but after a while, she gave up, unable to think of anything. After his promotion, Natsu constantly went on missions, never spending more than five minutes in the Guild. He didn't want to stay in the Guild for a long time, because it made him think of the times he and Lisanna spent there, especially after what Mystogan did. Natsu had changed drastically after the talk with Mira. Instead of the cheerful, happy-go-lucky, energetic Natsu, this Natsu was more mature. He never started the Guild brawls, or even participated in them. Because of this, his relationship with Gray has changed. It took Gray a while to accept the new Natsu. He always challenged him to fights and constantly insulted him, trying to goad Natsu into a fight. Instead, Natsu just ignored his attempts, calling him "a mage who could never protect anyone if he kept acting like a child."These words made Gray realize how much Natsu has changed since then. It saddened Gray to think that Natsu really has changed. Sure, he thought he was immature and childish, but that was what made Natsu himself. He did want Natsu to grow up, but not like this. He didn't want Natsu to become a shell of his former self. Gray begrudgingly accepted the new Natsu, and just acted cordially with him.

The Guild had also noticed Natsu's changes. Natsu was the main reason why the Guild was so much fun to be in. He caused most of the brawls, and he made everyone laugh at his antics. Now they fear the new Natsu. He was cold hearted, merciless mage who got the job done. While everyone could be around Natsu normally, whenever he got pissed, he gave off an evil air. It made difficult for people to breathe and often froze people in their place out of fear. He never truly smiled anymore, only showing malicious smirks. The only time he really smiled was when he was around Happy, and even then they looked fake. His notorious destructive tendencies were toned down, only appearing whenever he needed to.

Naturally the subject of Lisanna was _very _sensitive to him. The mentioning of Lisanna would upset Natsu. Usually he would have a fit of rage, but there was one incident that almost got him arrested.

Flashback

_Natsu was returning to the Guild after completing a mission. It was a simple request, just beat a couple of bandits and retrieve the hostages. However, what aggravated Natsu was that the town was too far to walk on foot and too far for Happy to fly him there. So he had to take a train. If anything, Natsu's motion sickness got worse in a year. Usually Natsu had Lisanna to comfort him whenever he was on a train. She would put his head on her lap and play with his hair. With her gone, Natsu tried his best to avoid needing transportation. Unfortunately since most of the requests are in far locations and offered good money, he was more often than not, forced to take the train. The train ride took five excruciating hours for Natsu and five hours back. As he was returning to the Guild, he was approached by a group of thugs. These thugs were notorious in Magnolia for causing a lot of trouble, but always avoided getting arrested. These thugs were ordinary people who suddenly unlocked their magic potential. They terrorized normal humans because of their new abilities, and thought that they were the shit. Their leader was a mage who could use Water Magic, and thought that if he could take down the Salamander of Fairy Tail, he would be unstoppable._

"_Well well, look who's here boys!" The leader exclaimed excited. His chance to shine was finally here._

"_Huh? Who the hell are you guys?" Natsu asked, uninterested in this little group._

"_We are the ones who are going to defeat you Salamander! With my victory, I will be the most feared mage in Magnolia!" The leader proclaimed, bursting into a fit of laughter. The lackies joined in on the laughter._

"_Sure that's nice and all, but I gotta back to my Guild." Natsu said, annoyed with the holdup._

"_Oh, in a hurry aren't you? Why? You want to go see your precious Lisanna?" The leader questioned, angering Natsu._

"_What did you just say?" Natsu angrily asked which went unnoticed by the group._

"_It looks like you want to hurry back home and return to your precious fiancé, don't you? Oh wait, you can't, besides she's six feet under! Ahahahaha!" The leader laughed cruelly. _

_Natsu clenched his fists in anger. How dare this guy bring up Lisanna's name? How dare he mock her?_

"_That's quite a shame too. If she had known what a great mage I was and became my woman, she wouldn't have had to be stuck with a loser like you who let her die!"_

_Something in Natsu snapped. He got angry at this thug who mentioned Lisanna and mocked her, but after hearing him say something like that, he lost control of himself. He exploded in an aura of flames. But instead of his regular flames, these flames were black, and scared the group of thugs to their very core. The thugs were too scared to move. The flames Natsu was releasing suffocated them and made them cold to their bones. What scared them the most were his eyes. Instead of the brown color eyes he had, they turned a bright red. The look he gave them promised them a painful death. _

_Natsu moved faster than they could blink, and knocked out every single member of the group except for the leader. The leader stood there in fear, his legs shaking, with a puddle forming around his legs. He wanted to run away, but he couldn't. He lifted his arms and released a water spell attempting to quench the fire that scared him. However the water evaporated before they could reach Natsu. The leader was officially scared shitless. Natsu delivered a strong right to the thugs, sending him flying. The leader landed on the ground with a painful thud, on the verge of unconsciousness. However, Natsu was not done, he grabbed the leader by the front of his shirt and started punching him repeatedly. The leader was losing a lot of blood, and several bruised were forming. Natsu then kicked the leader in the midsection, sending him flying towards the Fairy Tail Guild._

_It was a typical day at the Fairy Tail Guild. People were drinking, partying, but most importantly, they were fighting._

"_What do you all think you're doing you fools!"_

_Or at least they were until Erza came._

"_It's not good that you guys fight. You're all a part of the same guild. You are all nakama, you are all family. You should treat each other as such."_

_Erza always made them stop fighting. Her words carried wisdom for someone as young as her. She made them think that they shouldn't be fighting each other, they should be helping each other. _

"_Oh Erza your back? Come on, we still have a score to settle." Mira challenged._

"_Hmph, I guess I have time for a warm up." Erza replied with a smirk._

_The Guild sweat dropped at Erza's hypocrisy. She just scolded all of them for fighting yet she's doing it herself?_

"_Bring it one you red-haired skank!" Mira yelled as she kicked her away._

"_You're going down you white haired floozy!" Erza countered as she punched her back._

_As they were fighting, they guild couldn't help but smile at their antics. Despite what Erza said, she too loved the Guild Brawls, but order was needed sometimes. They all looked at each other, and proceeded to beat the crap out of each other._

_All of a sudden, a body crashed through the Guild doors, landing in the middle of the Guild. Everyone stopped fighting and saw a person covered in bloody who was most likely unconscious. They wondered where the body came from or who it was when they suddenly couldn't breathe. They looked towards the broken doors and saw Natsu with black flames surrounding his body, an extremely angry look on his face, and bright red eyes. Everyone at the Guild felt an evil presence coming from Natsu, but his magic making it hard to from them do anything._

_Natsu picked up the body and spoke to him, uncaring whether or not he could hear him._

"_Trash like you has no right to say her name. Say what you want about me but if you ever say anything about her, I'll make sure you'll suffer a hate worse than death!"_

_Natsu raised his fist, about to punch the unconscious man, but was stopped by a giant hand, squeezing him until he let go of the body. The grip prevented him from moving, but wasn't tight enough for it to hurt. He looked and saw Master Makarov with a stern look on his face._

"_Master…" Natsu never calls Makarov by his title unless he was dead serious about something._

"_Natsu, what do you think you're doing" Makarov asked calmly, unaffected by black flames or their evil presence._

"_This piece of trash dirtied her name. I'm going to make sure that he repents" Natsu said in a voice that made everyone shiver in fright. What was this magic that Natsu was releasing? Why did it feel so evil? It made them sick to their stomachs._

"_Natsu, let the man go" Makarov ordered calmly._

_After several moments, Natsu finally let the man go, which let Makarov to release him as well. The black flames disappeared, and his eyes returned to their normal color. Natsu took several deep breathes until he noticed that everyone in the Guild was starting at him. Most of them had a scared look in their eyes. Natsu was never the type of person to brutally beat up someone, but the events that they just witnessed scared them. Others, like Gray, Erza, and Mira looked on with shock. They had never felt this level of magic power come from Natsu. The black flames that he released and his eye color frightened them. Was this Natsu's true strength?_

"_Tch." Natsu said, as he turned around and quietly left the guild, leaving the rest of them in shock and fear._

_End Flashback_

After that incident, Natsu was under house arrest for quite some time. Besides avoiding the Guild, Natsu constantly went on missions to avoid the apartment he had rented for him and Lisanna. It was an apartment on Strawberry Street, near Magnolia's shopping center and in front of a canal. It was a nice apartment: the rent was 70,000 Jewels a month; it was two stories, pure white walls, and a very spacious interior. They were going to move into the apartment after they got married, but since then, it was just a painful and somewhat expensive reminder of his failure.

That incident scared all of them. They knew that Natsu was strong and that Lisanna was never a topic to discuss with him, but after what he did, the Guild decided never to mention to Lisanna ever. He needed time to recover, mentioning her would only remind himself of what happened. It would remind him of the failure that Mira had put on him at his request.

The new mature Natsu didn't seem entirely heartless however. From time to time he would engage in simple conversation with the others. It never really went anywhere besides "How are you" but at least he was talking. In fact, the nicest thing he had ever said since the incident occurred on a mission.

_Another Flashback_

_Natsu was returning home to Magnolia after completing a mission. It was a request for a mage and someone else to perform at a circus for a day due to the original performers being injured. Natsu had to go with someone and out of all people, he went with Alzack Connell, the gun mage who had a crush with Bisca Mulan, a fellow gun mage. Natsu used his fire to create various designs and other attracting figures with Alzack used his guns magic to create beautiful displays of fireworks._

_After getting paid and departing from the train, Natsu and Alzack walked in silence. They had gotten to other each other pretty well during the mission. Natsu learned that Alzack was named after his parents, Alison and Zackary Connell, and that he came from a western country. His parents were mages who used Guns Magic just like he did, only instead of being in a Guild, they used their magic for entertainment purposes. Alzack's parents were killed when he was seven when a crazed fan wanted to do a show with them and got carried away. He shot a bullet towards his mother, which was intercepted by his father. This resulted in his mother and the fan to shoot each other at the same time. With her dying breath, Alison Connell crawled towards her dead husband's body, wrapped her arm around him, and said "I love you" to both him and Alzack, dying with a smile on her face. That act made Alzack vow that he would find the right girl, marry her, and protect her with his life, like his dad had done. He eventually moved to Fiore where he found the Fairy Tail and joined._

_As they were walking back to the Guild, Natsu suddenly stopped walking. Alzack walked a couple more steps before he noticed Natsu stopped moving. He looked at Natsu in confusion. He was confused why Natsu would invite him of all people to do a mission with him. They were a part of the same Guild and thought of each other as family, but they never really had any extended interaction with each other. So what was Natsu's goal?_

"_Alzack…" Natsu started._

"_Yeah?"_

"_When are you going to tell Bisca?" Natsu suddenly asked. The question made Alzack blush._

"_I don't know what you're talking about" he replied nerviously._

"_Cut the crap, everyone knows that you like her." Natsu said coldly. Alzack sighed, not knowing what to say._

"_I don't know Natsu. Everytime I want to, I always chicken out. I mean what if she doesn't like me back?" he asked which was responded with a deadpan look from Natsu._

"_It's so obvious that she likes you too" Natsu said exasperated._

"_But what if – " Alzack started but never finished as he was interrupted by Natsu._

"_Alzack, I'm a man who lost half of his body trying to his fiancé and I still failed." At his tone, Alzack cringed. "I can't go back in time and undo what's done. Lisanna completed me, she was my other half. Now look at me, half my body is gone and I'm miserable all the time. What I'm trying to say is, do it before something happens and you'll regret not doing it sooner. Take it from a man who lost everything." Natsu said as he started walking again. Alzack looked at Natsu in shock. He had never heard Natsu give advice to anyone before. He thought long and hard about what he should do. Should he confess before it's too late? Or is he kept going to chicken out and regret never telling her when something happens? As he pondered these thoughts, he continued to walk back to the guild with Natsu._

_End Flashback_

Since then, Alzack had successfully asked Bisca out on a date, and thanked Natsu for his advice. The Guild looked at him in a different light. While Natsu may have changed, remnants of the old Natsu were still evident in his personality. After that, the Guild members talked to Natsu more often, urging him to take a break and have fun with him. Natsu politely declined, but which a big improvement from a blatant "No." As the year went by Natsu became a little bit for social day by day. He was still the mature scary Natsu, but at least he was striking up conversations with his nakama. Bit by bit the cold broken heart of Natsu was warming up and getting put back together thanks to his nakama. Nakama may be a better healer of wounds than time.

"It's been quite a year hasn't it?" Mira asked to herself as she smiled. While everybody in the Guild hasn't really done anything excited, for Natsu he had quite a year. She took a sip of her beer when she noticed the Guild doors have opened. She got up excitedly.

"Erza, you red haired tramp, fight me!"

Some things never change in Fairy Tail, do they?

Author's Note

There's chapter three for ya. Sorry for the majority of it being flashbacks, but I thought three chapters of buildup was enough. Besides I really want to get into the main story. So this chapter might be a bit of a cop out. Again I apologize.

It's Wednesday, which means the poll has ended. The results have been have been practically unanimous for the most part. But the fans answered, and I'll respect their wishes. It's due to them that I keep writing and that my story gets popular I guess would be the word.

Natsu is going to stick with Lisanna, a pure NaLi fic in the making! So, RememberTheName76, if you are reading this, you can rest assured. A pretty harsh response, but an honest one, and I respect that.

Any reviews, whether they are compliments or constructive criticisms, are appreciated.


	4. Special Chapter: Episode of Lisanna!

Special Chapter! Episode of Lisanna: The Truth of that Day!

A/N: Hey Guys. Insanelee here and I'm here to present to you a special chapter. This chapter details Lisanna's experiences in Edolas and how she copes. After this I'll continue onto the main series. I hope you enjoy!

Also I want to clear up something on the canon timeline of Fairy Tail and this fic's timeline of Fairy Tail. The canon of Fairy Tail said that Mystogan became an S-Class Mage at X782 whereas in my fic it's Natsu. The year before was Mira and the year before that was Erza. In my timeline, everybody became an S-Class a year before than canon, so that it was possible for Natsu to become one at X782. So in my timeline, Mystogan became an S-Class at X781, Mira at X780 and Erza at X779.

Disclaimer: Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail, not me.

* * *

July 8, X782

Lisanna groaned as she woke up. Her body was sore everywhere. Her left arm especially was in a lot of pain. She grasped her left arm with her right hand and stood up. Her head was faring much better either. Lisanna had a big headache which made it hard for her to think.

'Where am I?' What happened to me?' Lisanna thought to herself.

As she got up she noticed that something was different. She looked around her and saw that she did not know where she was. She didn't see a burning town, she saw lots of rocks. Instead of being on a cliff overlooking a small town, she was in a barren field, full of giant rocks. She was all by herself, and she was scared. She looked around her but she couldn't find anybody. She tried to remember what had happened to everyone else when her memories hit her like a brick wall.

She remembered Elfman trying to do a Full-Body Take Over and losing control of himself because the Beast's magical power was too much for him to handle. She remembered the tears Mira spilled after the Beast had attacked her. She remembered the pain Natsu went through trying to protect them.

Mira-nee, Elf-nichan…. Natsu…. None of them were there. At the thought of Natsu's name, Lisanna's eyes had widened. She looked at her finger and to her horror, the ring wasn't there. She didn't understand why the ring wasn't there when she remembered what happened at the hotel. Her eyes teared up at the memory of their argument. They had said horrible things to each other but what Lisanna do was the worst thing she could've possibly done: she threw her ring at Natsu. She practically called off the wedding in that one gesture. What's worse was that she told him she hated him! The tears were flowing down her face at this point. How could she hate Natsu? They had known each other since they were kids, they were practically inseparable. She didn't mean what she said, she was just angry. Natsu was the type of person to do things the simple way, that's just how he does things. He doesn't like to complicate anything; he just wanted things done and fast. Was having the wedding at the Guild that important to him? Did he really think the wedding could be a simple procedure? Could he have made it so? All of these thoughts rushed into Lisanna's throbbing head. She felt miserable, she had no idea where she was, and she didn't have any idea how she could apologize to Natsu for how she acted. After a few minutes of crying, Lisanna wiped the tears off her face and looked around her to see where she was.

She turned around and saw something that surprised her. It was a giant green tree looking structure, but what was on it caught her attention: the Fairy Tail Insignia.

'Fairy Tail's mark? Why does that building have that mark?' Lisanna pondered. As far as she knew, there was only one building that had the mark of Fairy Tail, and that was back home. She walked up and opened the door revealing many familiar faces, but Lisanna felt that they were different somehow.

She opened the door to find many familiar faces looking very depressed. As soon as she entered, all eyes turned to her. It felt strange for Lisanna to be in there. They all looked familiar: Wakaba, Macao, Gray, Cana, but something told her that these people were complete strangers. They all had the same faces, but it just felt very foreign. All of the members of Fairy Tail were here, but she didn't seem to recognize the two blue haired women and the scary looking blonde, or any of them for that matter.

"Is this a Guild?" Lisanna asked to myself quietly.

All of the occupants in the room looked at her like she had grown three heads. It kind of made her feel uncomfortable. Suddenly, everyone just got up and cheered. The sudden noise scared her so much that she put her hands close to her heart to stop the rapid beats. Everybody ran up and gathered around her looking really happy and… relieved?

"You're alive!"

"Thank goodness you're alright!"

"Don't scare us like that again!"

What were they all talking about? They were acting like she died or something.

'Like I died…' Lisanna repeated in her head. She finally understood why everyone was acting so strange. Lisanna deduced that she was in a parallel world, which explains why everyone had the same faces, but had drastically different personalities than the Fairy Tail of her world. If that was the case then where was the Lisanna of this world? She remembered what had happened to her before she came to this world. Natsu and Mira-nee were both freaking out when the Beast had attacked her. Natsu had stayed to fight the Beast despite his injuries and made Mira go after her and heal her. Mira was crying so much that Lisanna was hurt and trying so hard to heal her. It was like Mira thought she would… die. Then that bright light had enveloped her and taken her away from her sister. She vaguely remembered hearing her sister crying, begging her not to leave her. She vaguely remembered flying through some sort of portal and passing a person that looked exactly like her. Judging by the situation with Mira, the person she passed on the way here, and the way everyone was acting, she had an idea of what happened.

The Lisanna of this world was dead.

It scared her, the situation she was in. If the Lisanna of this world had died, so doesn't that mean she should be dead too? Maybe whatever took her to place wanted to replace what was missing so it took her away from her home and brought her here. She was intended to be a substitute. Like the Lisanna of this world had never disappeared. If that was the case what about her home? Why should the people of this world get to be happy and her loved ones have to suffer? She wanted to go back home to Mira-nee. To Elf-nichan. To her Fairy Tail. To Happy. To Natsu. She wanted to go home and apologize to Natsu for acting so horribly to him. She noticed that this world's Natsu was looking at her worriedly, but she knew that it wasn't her Natsu. One look at him told her everything. This world's Natsu looked very scared of everything. He looked worried all the time, and was very shy. He seemed to be incredibly frightened of the scary looking blonde, but then again who wouldn't? This Natsu was just a look alike, nothing could ever perfectly copy Natsu. He was a unique person, there was no one else like him. He was a simple minded idiot who was raised by a dragon and loves his nakama with a passion. Lisanna started to tear up again. What if she never gets to see her Natsu again? Will she be stuck here forever, meant to be a replacement and with a different Natsu? She was about to start crying again when she heard two very familiar voices.

"Lisanna's alive nee-chan!" Lisanna's eyes had widened. She looked around her and saw where the voice came from. It was her brother Elf-nichan, or at least his counterpart, and he was crying his eyes out. Physically, he looked different from her brother back home. Instead of spiky hair, this Elf-nichan had a bowl shaped haircut. Instead of wearing the dark blue jacket with matching pants and sandals, this Elfman was wearing a pinkish tank top with white pants and shoes. Personality wise he definitely was not the Elf-nichan she loves and knows. With the way he was acting, Lisanna could tell that he was not the manly type of person her brother was. He seemed to be very sensitive, just like this world's Natsu. It reminded her of Elf-nichan when he was younger, always doubting himself and never spewing any of his manly speeches.

"When you fell from so high up…. I thought that you were gone!"

Lisanna turned her head a little and saw her sister's counterpart. She was _way _different than the Mira-nee back home. Instead of the Gothic attire that her sister wore, this Mira wore a purple shirt with lavender trimmings with a matching shirt that revealed her stomach and her cleavage. Her hair was loose, reaching her back and had a ponytail tied that pointed upwards. Mira-nee had her hair tied with a ribbon and had a strand that covered her forehead. She didn't feel that menacing aura the Mira-nee had back home. Instead she felt warmth and comfort coming from this woman. It was strange yet oddly familiar to Lisanna. Mira-nee was definitely scary, but she was her sister. They cared for each other greatly. However, Mira-nee would never act this caring openly to others. The day Mira-nee acted nice would be the day that she died. Oh wait…

At her words, Lisanna's suspicions were correct. This world's Lisanna really was dead. Whatever it was that took her into this world, it was trying to complete something that this world lacked, namely her.

"Lisanna!" They suddenly both cried. Mira-nee and Elf-nichan, or at least their counterparts, were hugging here _very _tightly. They were crying their eyes out; unaware of how awkward Lisanna felt when they hugged her. They just looked happy that she was okay, even though she wasn't their Lisanna.

"Don't ever go anywhere ever again!"

"WAAAH! LISANNA!"

Lisanna wasn't sure how to react to the situation she was in. This world's Mira-nee and Elf-nichan were so relieved and happy that she was safe, yet they didn't know that she wasn't their real sister.

"Umm…"

She wanted to say something, but she couldn't. The counterparts were hugging the girl that looked like their sister, who should be dead. How could she ruin the moment for them? How could she even say it? Strangely for Lisanna, she started to smile. Whether it was this world or her world, Mira-nee was Mira-nee and Elf-nichan was Elf-nichan. The people of both worlds wanted her to be safe. Sure, she felt guilty that she was impersonating herself technically, which sounds so confusing. But she would feel even guiltier if she told everyone that she was not of their world. She couldn't say anything. So she thought it would be best to just play her part. She had no idea how to get home, and everybody was happy. She would give up the chance to go back home so that everyone around her could be happy. It was a difficult decision for her, but for the sake of these people, she would have to endure it. Her eyes started to water, which many people interpreted as her being happy. With the return of Lisanna, the Guild started to party.

Despite not being in her world, the festive spirit of Fairy Tail never changes. Everyone was having a good time, which brought a smile to Lisanna's face. Though the spirit never changes, it would be hard to get used to the people here. She saw Cana over in the distance, wearing very formal attire and refusing to drink! Lisanna was in shock over Cana's personality, but reminded herself that this is a different world. She looked around her and saw that Levy was arguing with the scary blonde lady, Gray was wearing too many clothes, and Nab kept running around actually doing work. With all of differences made in this world, Lisanna knew that it would be a difficult task to blend in.

As Lisanna was enjoying the party, a hand suddenly grasped hers and led her somewhere. Lisanna looked at the owner of the hand and saw Natsu taking them to a private area. He looked down and shuffled his feet, looking nervous. Lisanna took one glace at this Natsu and immediately noticed the differences. This Natsu looked he was scared of everything. He didn't look her in the eye, and looked like he was about to burst out crying. She also observed that when he was with the scary blonde, he would also apologize, or try to run away from her. The Natsu she knew back home was the complete opposite. Her Natsu was confident, never afraid of anything. He would face things head on, and would never run away from a fight. As far as she knew, nothing scared her Natsu.

"Umm…" This Natsu started to say.

"What is it Natsu?" Lisanna asked, hoping to lure him into the conversation he was trying to start.

"Umm… I… I…" after a while, Natsu hugged her. Lisanna was shocked at Natsu's sudden action.

"I'm so glad you're alive…" Natsu said his voice cracking. Lisanna could tell that he was about to cry, judging from his voice. She returned the hugged and patted his hair.

"When I heard what had happened, I…" Natsu broke down crying. Lisanna felt the tears sting her eyes. It pained her to see Natsu sad, no matter what world she was in. After a while, Natsu detached himself from Lisanna and wiped his eyes, looking thankful.

"Thanks, I needed that…" He said, grasping her hands with a blush. He looked down at her hands and his eyes widened.

"Lisanna, your ring…" Natsu started. Lisanna looked to her hand. She knew that she had a ring on that finger, but that was from her Natsu. What ring was this Natsu talking about?

"My ring?" Lisanna questioned.

"The ring I gave you when I proposed." Lisanna looked at Natsu in shock. This world's Natsu had proposed to this world's Lisanna as well? Lisanna never responded to Natsu's last sentence, which Natsu had interpreted as a bad thing.

"You didn't like the ring did you?" Natsu asked sadly which brought Lisanna out of her stupor. She realized she might've hurt his feelings inadvertently by not answering quickly. It saddened her to see Natsu, no matter which world she's in, to be sad. She tried to answer, but he beat her to it.

"It's okay; I mean it was a pretty crappy ring. I'm sorry for not getting you a better one, but once I save enough I'll buy you the best ring in Edolas!... I hope…." Natsu declared nervously. Lisanna smiled sweetly at Natsu. Her Natsu was never nervous about anything, while this one seemed to be like a nervous wreck. As she was about to reply, she was interrupted by a yellow flash flying past her, crashing into Natsu.

"Natsu! You idiot, why the hell are you over here with Lisanna all by yourself? She may your fiancé dammit, but everyone deserves to be around her, not just you, you asshole!" The scary blonde yelled at Natsu while grabbing the front of his shirt and shaking him furiously.

Lisanna just looked on in shock. She looked around her to see if anyone was going to stop the blonde, but instead, everyone was either ignoring her, or looking on with a smile on their faces. Lisanna figured that whatever she was doing to Natsu must've been a regular occurrence in the guild.

"I'm sorry Lucy! I'll do whatever you say!" Natsu said desperately, wanting the blonde known as Lucy to stop attacking him.

"Stop apologizing goddamnit!" Lucy yelled at him. She then smirked evilly. She proceeded to sit on Natsu whiling viciously and painfully pulling on his leg.

"Oh, there it is!" Lisanna looked over and saw the Edolas Warren looking very excited.

"One of Lucy's 48 different Torture Techniques! Technique Number 28: The Give Up Already Lock!" She turned her head and found the Edolas Max standing next to Warren. They seemed excited that Lucy was "torturing" Natsu as they said.

As everything was going on, Lisanna couldn't help but smile. Everybody was partying like they were the Fairy Tail back home. She may be in a different place, but the spirit of these people was exactly the same, making her feel as if she never left. She still had a lot of questions, but at least she found out two things: This world was called Edolas, and that Fairy Tail never changes, no matter what world you are in.

* * *

Two Weeks Later

Lisanna was not in a good mood. When she woke up this morning, she immediately went to the bathroom and threw up whatever she ate last night. After that, she had the worst headache she ever experienced in her life. She was only awake for two hours and she felt like crap. Currently, she was in the Guild, sitting on a table with her head in her hands.

"Lisanna are you alright?" Mira asked worriedly.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Lisanna said unconvincingly. Mira had a frown on her face. Lisanna was not fine at all. She knew that Lisanna was sick, but she didn't know what she was sick with. She was vomiting, but she didn't have a fever, so the flu was out of the question. She didn't look like she had a stomach virus, so what was making her sick? As Mira was thinking of the possibilities, Lisanna got up from her seat.

"Sorry Mira-nee, but I'm gonna take a nap."

Mira looked on worriedly. She was only awake for two hours and she was going to take a nap? What was wrong with Lisanna? Mira decided to take action, and contacted the Guild's medical advisor. Since they were criminals, no doctor would want to help them. However, there was a doctor nice enough to lend his medical expertise to the Guild, and subsequently became the medical advisor.

Later in the Afternoon

Lisanna and Natsu sat in the Guild infirmary, waiting for the doctor to show up. Lisanna was terribly nervous because she knew what she was wrong with her, while Natsu was nervous because he wanted to know why Lisanna was sick. The doctor came in with Lisanna's files and sat down in his chair.

"Well Ms. Strauss after doing many tests, I have found out what exactly is ailing you." The doctor said. Natsu leaned forward in his chair, anxious to hear the results, while Lisanna looked down at the floor, her hair covering her eyes.

"Ms. Strauss, you're pregnant."

Natsu stood there in shock, not believing what he had just heard. Lisanna was pregnant! He knew that Lisanna had sex only once, and that was with him. This was his child that Lisanna was bearing! Natsu was so happy to hear the news.

Lisanna on the other hand, was not so thrilled. While she had sex only once, she did it with her Natsu. The Natsu back in Earthland as these people called it. She was the girl that wanted to have sex only after she was married, but with Natsu, she knew that she would never love anyone as much as she did with Natsu, so she did it. She did it the day before she was transported to Edolas. Lisanna started to cry, which Natsu and the doctor thought to be tears of joy. Lisanna was devastated. Her child is going to be born without his/her real father. Sure this Natsu may look like her Natsu, but it wasn't the same person. Her Natsu was never going to know that he had a child, and her child would grow up never knowing her real father.

Natsu and Lisanna stepped out of the infirmary, Natsu looking happy, and Lisanna… not so much. While she was overjoyed that she was going to have a child, her previous thoughts haunted her. She hasn't said a word since the doctor told her the news. She was nervous about how to tell the Guild. Within the two weeks that she was in Edolas she learned many aspects about this world. She learned that Guilds have been abolished, and Fairy Tail was practically the only Guild left, technically making her a Dark Mage. She was technically a criminal by law, and she was bearing a child. Her baby would grow up to a world of crime and violence. Worst of all, she didn't think she would be able to protect her child. Magic was scarce in Edolas, and no human possesses magic within them, unlike the humans of Earthland. Worst of all, she wasn't able to use her **Take Over** in Edolas. She was left practically defenseless! Natsu sensed her worries and grasped her hand with his hand, bringing a smile to her face. As they left the infirmary, they saw the worried glances of their Guildmates. They wanted to know what was making Lisanna. Their concern brought a smile to Lisanna's face. The people here were as caring as the people in Earthland.

"What did the doctor say?"

"Are you alright?"

"You're not sick are you?"

Lisanna raised her hand which signaled everyone to be quiet. Lisanna and Natsu looked at each other and took a deep breath. Lisanna stepped forward and delivered the news.

"Everyone, the doctor told me…" Lisanna paused, unable to finish her sentence. Her worries suddenly came back to her tenfold. Her hesitation brought worry to everyone at the Guild. Natsu stood next to her and grasped her hand. His action calmed her down, bringing a smile to her face. She took another deep breath and started over.

"The doctor said…. That I'm pregnant."

The Guild stood there in shock, not believing what they had just heard. Lisanna, the cute and innocent little sister of Mira and Elfman, was pregnant. They all knew that Natsu and Lisanna were engaged and figured that he was the father, but it was still shocking. The pure and innocent girl with the weakest, most cowardly member of the Guild. After a while, a reaction finally came out of the Guild.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHH HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!"

"Lisanna is what!"

"Are you serious?"

"I can't believe Natsu actually did it!"

Lisanna looked amused at their reactions, while Natsu looked sort of offended. Everyone in the Guild was talking amongst themselves, sharing their disbelief with each other. They couldn't believe the news at first, but after a while, they started cheering. Mira ran up and hugged Lisanna, congratulating her, while Lucy tackled Natsu to the ground and started shaking him.

"Dammit Natsu look at what you did! You got Lisanna pregnant and we're wanted criminals! How the hell could you do this to Lisanna you dumbass!"

"I'm sorry Lucy, please don't hurt me!"

"What's wrong Lucy? Angry because Lisanna is having Natsu's kid and not yours? You should've expected as much, no one is going to want to have kids with a crazed amazon woman." Levy said, taunting Lucy.

"What the hell did you just say, you skinny mechanic?!" Lucy retorted, resulted in a fight between the two.

Lisanna laughed at the liveliness of the Guild. Despite the Guild's criminal status, they were overjoyed that a new life was coming into the Guild. The Guild promised to Lisanna that they would protect the child from the Royal Army no matter what happened. Lisanna smiled at their promise.

The next nine months are going to be quite interesting for Lisanna.

* * *

A/N: Jesus this was the hardest chapter I've had write, which is ironic because it's also the shortest chapter I've written so far. This took me so long to write, it's ridiculous. I'm not particularly proud of how this chapter turned out, but I needed to get this done it was in my computer unfinished for the longest time and it was driving me crazy.

Despite that, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. I've always wondered how Natsu and Lisanna's kid would turn out to be like, and be sure to look out for him/her in the Edolas Arc! I hope you guys liked the idea of Lisanna having a kid.

The next chapter will begin with Episode 1 and 2 of the anime.


	5. Chapter 5: The Fairy Tail!

The Fairy Tail

A/N: Hey guys! Insanelee here and I'm back with another chapter after so long. I've been stuck trying to write the Lisanna chapter that it kinda burned me out. But with the many positive reviews I've been getting for my story, it keeps me going. This story is all thanks to you guys. So without further ado, here's the next chapter.

* * *

The port town of Hargeon, July 2, X784

It was a quiet day at Hargeon. People were getting on and off of the train. The train has just arrived, and people were getting off. However, there were two people in particular that were still on the train.

"Gray, come on! We finally made it to Hargeon! Hurry up! Hurry up!"

"Hold on Happy, I'm trying to find my shirt!"

The two passengers left on the train, both now identified as Gray and Happy, were still on the train, delayed by Gray's lack of clothes. Gray was desperately looking for his shirt, searching all of the seats and the train cars. The train conductor looked at the two, confused.

"Uh, sir, do you need any help?" The train conductor asked, unsure how to make of the situation.

"Don't worry, Gray always takes off his clothes!" Happy explained to the conductor. The conductor did not know how to process that piece of information.

"Shit, how does this always happen?" Gray asks to himself.

"If the information is correct, the 'Salamander' should be in town." Happy said as he walked out of the train. "Let's go." He said to Gray.

"Hold on, I found my shirt, but its underneath the seat." Gray said, the shirt was centimeters within his grasp. As he was finally got his shirt, the train horn sounded off, alerting Happy. He turned around and saw Gray leaning over a window of the train.

"STOP THE TRAIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNN!"

"...The train left..."

* * *

Chapter 4: The Fairy Tail

In the shopping district, of Hargeon, there was hustle and bustle everywhere. The people were out and about, doing there business. Our story begins within a magic shop, where a gorgeous blonde was conversing with the shop owner.

"Ehhh? This is the only magic shop in town?" She asks surprised.

"I'm afraid so. This town is more of a fishing town than one of magic. Not even a tenth of the people here can even use magic, so this store is more for the traveling mages." The shop owner explained, the blonde looking exasperated. The blonde let out a sigh.

"I guess this trip was a total bust, then?" The girl inquired.

"Now, now, don't say that. Please, have a look. I have received the latest shipment of goods." The shop owner tried to convince the girl. The reached under his counter and pulled out an item. "Girls love Colors magic. You can change the color of your clothes to whatever it is that suits your mood." The shop owner explained to the girl, presenting her the item. He moved his finger in a circular motion on the glass of the magic. "Purple! Green!" He exclaimed, acting dramatic. The blonde however, was not paying attention to him at all.

"I already have that. I'm looking for some powerful gate keys." She told him.

"Gate keys? That's an odd request. Those are pretty rare..." The shop owner stared. The blonde however, didn't hear the rest of his sentence because her attention was diverted to an item that had her excited.

"That's the key of the White Doggy!" She exclaimed excitedly.

"That one's not very powerful at all" The shop owner told her.

"So what? I was still looking for it." She replied. "How much is it?" She asked him.

"20,000 Jewels" he answered.

A pause.

"I'm sorry how much was that again?" The blonde asked again, not trusting her hearing.

"I said 20,000 Jewels." The shop owner repeated. The blonde sweatdropped.

"How much is it _really_ worth, handsome man?" The blonde asked seductively, sitting on the counter. She gave the shop owner a wink for good measure.

Outside the Shop

"I can't believe he only took of 1,000 Jewels!" The blonde stomped out of the shop, angry at the shop owner's response. "Is my sex appeal only worth 1,000 Jewels? That man doesn't know beauty at all! The fact that he took of a common amount is the worst." The blonde ranted, not believing what transpired in the shop. She was about to continue her tirade when she heard the squeals of many excited women. She looked down from the bridge she was standing on and saw a large crowd of women surrounding one man.

"The famous wizard is here!"

"It's Salamander-sama!"

The blonde saw two girls run past her, excited about meeting this Salamander person.

"Salamander?" The blonde repeated, not understanding what was so exciting, until the name finally registered in her mind. "The wizard who can use magic you can't buy in stores?!" The blonde said, clasping her hands together in excitement. "He's in this town?!" She couldn't believe her luck. The Salamander from Fairy Tail is in this town! Her dream would finally come true! She rushed towards the crowd, barely containing her excitement.

* * *

In an alley

"Damn... I can't believe I had to take the train twice..."

"You should try to keep your clothes on Gray."

"Not to mention that I'm hungry..."

"And we don't have any money..."

The two passengers from the train, Happy and Gray, were currently discussing the predicament they were in together. Gray wound up taking the train twice because he failed to retrieve his shirt on time. While annoyed that his clothes "suddenly" disappear from his body, it may have worked in his favor this time. When he took of his clothes like he normally did, the person sitting next to him freaked out and threw Gray off the train. Happy found Gray walking back to Hargeon, and flew him back. They were currently walking through an alley in Hargeon, finally starting what they were supposed to do the _first_ time the train stopped at Hargeon.

"Hey Happy, this Salamander that everyone's talking about... It's got to be Natsu right?" Gray asked his feline friend.

"Aye! Other than Igneel, Natsu is the only Salamander I can think of." Happy replied.

"Yeah right?" Gray agreed with his friend's logic. The two continued walking until they saw a huge crowd and overheard the various things being shouted by the women.

"Salamander-sama!"

"You're so dreamy!"

"Please burn me!"

"Salamander?!" Happy and Gray looked at each other, saying the name at the same time. They sported a big grin on their faces and rushed towards the crowd.

"Alright! Just our luck!" Gray exclaimed happily, running towards the crowd.

"Aye!" Happy replied... happily.

In the middle of the crowd stood a man wearing a purple cape with a tattoo over his right eye. He made a motion with his hands, which gathered a very positive response from the crowd.

"What a dreamboat!"

"He's so cool!"

The blonde woman from earlier stood in the crowd, starting at the man known as Salamander, sporting a blush on her face. Her heart started beating rapidly and she didn't know why. Her heart's constant thumping made her feel uncomfortable.

'_Wh-Why is my heart beating so fast? What's gotten into me?!" the blonde thought._

"Haha, you're too kind." Salamander said to some of his fans. He looked to his side and found the blonde haired woman. His gaze made the blonde's heart beat even faster.

_"He stared at me!" She squealed mentally. "Is it because he is a famous wizard? Is that why my heart is throbbing?" the blonde thought. _She continued to stare at his until her eyes widened in realization.

_"Could it be...? Am i in...?" _She started to think. Her eyes turned into hearts. She started to hop toward the man when she heard someone saying another person's name.

"Natsu! Natsu!" Gray broke through the crowd expecting to see someone important. However when Gray laid eyes on the mage known as Salamander, he looked incredibly disappointed and confused. Gray's intervention caused the hearts in her eyes to break.

"Who the hell are you?"Gray asked, receiving a shocked reaction from Salamander.

"Would the name 'Salamander' ring a bell? He said while making a hand motion. He looked at Gray expecting an answer, but instead was shocked when he saw him leaving without an explanation. "You're leaving already?!"

Suddenly, some crazed women jumped Gray who was walking away from the crowd. They were angry at Gray who they deemed, showed disrespect towards the great Salamander.

"How rude of you!"

"Yeah! Salamander-Sama is a great mage!"

"Apologize this instant!"

Happy stood there, watching the women attack Gray, whether it was biting him, putting him in a headlock or twisting his leg.

"What's the matter with you girls?" Gray asked in confusion.

"Now, now. That's enough. He didn't mean anything by it." Salamander said, unaffected by Gray's action. His words caused the women to swoon over him all over again. The blonde from earlier looked at Salamander with contempt in her eyes. Salamander started to write on a piece of paper.

"Here's my autograph. Feel free to brag to your friends." He offered Gray his autograph who looked completely uninterested.

"No thanks." Gray replied. His answer caused the crowd to be angry with him. As a result they beat him up and threw him into a pile of trash.

"It wasn't him after all" Happy said, not helping Gray with his situation.

"Well, I have business at the port I must attend to, so I must be off." Salamander announced. The crowd of women diverted their attention from Gray to Salamander, looking very sad.

"**Red Carpet!**" He snapped his fingers and a purple magic seal appeared in front of him. A purple stream of fire solidified under his feet, making him hover in the air. "I'm having a party on my ship this evening! you're all invited!" The Salamander announced as he left on a stream of fire. His invitation resulted in the fangirls squealing their acceptance. Gray looked at the sky where the Salamander last stood before he left.

"Who the hell was that?" He asked.

"What a real scumbag" Gray heard a voice and turned to his side. He saw a blonde smiling at him. "Thanks a lot!" She said waving at him.

"Huh?" Gray said. He had no idea what the blonde was talking about. What was she thanking him for? As he was about to ask her what she was thanking him for, both his and Happy's stomachs growled loudly. The two sported a blush on their faces. The blonde smiled and shook her head at the two.

"Come on, let's get something to eat" The blonde announced. The two looked at her happily. They were finally going to eat!

* * *

At a Restaurant

"My name is Lucy! Nice to meet you!" The blonde introduced himself to the two.

"Aye!" Happy responded happily. Gray and Happy proceeded to eat large amounts of food rather quickly, showing how hungry they were.

"You're Gray and Happy right?" The blonde asked wanting to get their names right.

"You're really nice!" Gray told her, scarfing down his food and drinks. The blonde held up her hands in front of her in embarrassment.

"Thanks, sure... Just take your time and..." She started to say but the scraps of food flying everywhere made it hard for her to speak. "Stuff is flying everywhere..." She said as some sort of sauce landed on her forehead.

_'There goes the 1000 jewels I saved with my looks...' _Lucy thought with a sigh and a comical look on her face. She quickly turned serious and explained why she thanked Gray and Happy earlier.

"You see that Salamander guy was using Charm magic, a type of hypnosis. That kind of magic can make people attracted to you, but its sale was banned years ago" She explained to the two. "He'd go that far to be popular?" She asked herself with an exasperated look. "But I broke free of the spell when you guys barged in, so this is my thanks!" She told the two with a smile.

"I see" Gray said half interested, stuffing his face with food.

"Believe it or not, I'm actually a mage myself!" Lucy announced, pointing a finger at herself.

"Really?" Gray asked half interested, again stuffing his face with food.

"I haven't joined a Guild yet though." Lucy said. Suddenly thinking that Gray and Happy didn't know what a Guild was, she started to explain. "Guilds are organizations where mages gather to share information and find work. You can't be considered a full fledged mage unless you're in a Guild." Lucy said holding a drawing of a Guild that somehow formed in her hands. She then clasped her hands together and started to move around in her seat.

"There are a lot of Guild in the world, and apparently it's tough to get into the really popular ones! The one I want to join is filled with amazing mages!" At this point Lucy had a dreamy look on her face while Happy and Gray looked exasperated. "Oh, my! I want to join it, but I bet it'll be tough!" She exclaimed with steam coming out of her nose.

"Uhh.." Gray started, not sure how to comment. Lucy took note of his apparent discomfort.

"Oh, sorry! All this mage talk must sound like nonsense to you, huh?" She said waving her hand at him. She calmed down and rested her head on her hands. "But I'm definitely going to join that Guild! I bet I can find a lot of big jobs there!" She finished with conviction.

"Oh, yeah?" Gray questioned.

"You talk a lot." Happy stated. Lucy then remembered how she and Gray met.

"Come to think of it, you were looking for someone weren't you?" Lucy questioned.

"Aye, Igneel!" Happy said.

"Happy, remember, it could've been either him or Natsu." Gray corrected him. He turned to Lucy, "We're here because we heard a Salamander was coming to this town, but it was someone else." Gray said sounding disappointed.

"Yeah he didn't look like him or a real Salamander at all!" Happy said.

"A Salamander is a fire dragon, so we thought it could've been Igneel, but Natsu fits that description too." Gray said crossing his arms.

"How does this Igneel looks like a fire dragon?" Lucy asked while sweatdropping. This attracted both Gray and Happy.

"Igneel is not a person, he's a fire dragon." Gray explained.

A fire breathing dragon popped into Lucy's mind, while she had a comical expression on her face. "Huh?" was her intelligent reply.

"Aye! He's an actual dragon!" Happy said excitedly. Lucy answered with another "Huh?"

"Why would there be a dragon in the middle of a town?!" Lucy asked in disbelief. Happy looked shocked, realizing the absurdity of a large dragon in the middle of a town, which garnered a shocked reaction from Lucy.

"That's why I thought Natsu could be in this town. He's also a Salamander, and Igneel's son at that." Gray said. Lucy looked at him in shock for saying something that was just as ridiculous as Igneel being in town. She decided not to say anything and put down a couple thousand jewels on the table.

"Well, I should get going. Enjoy the food." She said as she started to leave the restaurant.

"Thank you, please come again!" A waitress politely said to Lucy. The waitress suddenly had a shocked expression on her face, which made Lucy turn around, and subsequently, have one of her own.

"Thank you for the meal!" Gray yelled. He and Happy were bowing to her, which gathered the attention of the patrons in the restaurant.

"For the meal!" Happy sort of repeated.

"Stop it! You're embarrassing me!" Lucy yelled at the two. "Look, it's fine! You guys saved me earlier, so now we're even!"

"I wasn't trying to save you though..." Gray said.

"Aye! I still feel indebted..." Happy replied.

"I know!" Gray said, slamming a fist into an open hand. "I'll give you this!" Gray happily showed her the autograph of Salamander, which Lucy angrily rejected.

* * *

Lucy sat on a bench, reading a Sorcerer Magazine that was in her hands.

"Sheesh, Fairy Tail caused trouble again?" Lucy questioned out loud. "Devon Bandit Family Wiped Out, Seven Homes Destroyed"?" She read the headline of the article. She started to laugh at Fairy Tail's destructive tendencies and laid down on the bench, turning the page.

"Oh, Mirajane is the glamour model this time!" Lucy said. She admired the model Mirajane for being extraordinarily beautiful and that she was a part of Fairy Tail. Which brought a question to Lucy's mind.

"How _do _you get into Fairy Tail? Is there an interview or something?" Lucy questioned as she closed the magazine. "The Magical Guild Fairy Tail... Is so amazingly cool!" She exclaimed, admiring the Guild even more.

"Oh, you want to get into Fairy Tail?" She heard a voice call out to her. She turned to her side and saw a familiar figure appear out of the bushes.

"Salamander!" She exclaimed, not expecting his appearance.

"I've been looking for you. I wanted to personally invite you to the party on my boat tonight." He said to her.

Lucy pointed a finger at him, "Your charm spells won't work on me!" she exclaimed. "The weakness of a Charm spell is awareness! It doesn't work on people who are aware of the spell!" She explained to Salamander. Salamander chuckled, impressed with her knowledge.

"I knew you were a mage the moment I saw you. No matter, just come to my party." He replied. Lucy turned her back on him.

"Yeah right, like I would ever go to some creep's party." Her response made a sign labeled Creep attach to Salamander, appearing shocked with her answer.

"I'm a creep?!" He repeated, not believing what he had heard.

"Your Charm spell. You would go that far to be popular?" She questioned.

"It's just a formality; I want to feel like a celebrity during the party." Salamander answered.

"You know for a famous mage, you are pretty stupid." Lucy retorted.

"Oh, you said you wanted to join Fairy Tail, didn't you?" Salamander asked. His question gathered Lucy;s attention. Salamander put on a charming grin, "Surely you have heard of the 'Salamander' of Fairy Tail?" He asked her. Her eyes widened in shock.

"I have!" She pointed a finger at him, "You're a member of Fairy Tail?!" She had a look of disbelief on her face. Salamander had a smug look on his face.

"That's right. If you want to join, I can put in a good word with our master." At his offer, Lucy was in shock. She was going to have a chance to be in Fairy Tail! She lost all of her reasoning and judgment and wanted to go to the party.

"It sounds like it'll be a nice party!" Lucy said with her hands in front of her chest, hearts forming in her eyes, edging closer to Salamander.

"Wow, talk about a simple personality." Salamander commented, not believing how easy it was to convince her to come.

"So you can really get me into Fairy Tail?!" Lucy asked, eyes sparkling with hope.

"But of course. However in return, I don't want you to tell anyone about my Charm spell." He demanded of her.

"Sure! No problem!" Lucy blindly agreed, only thinking about her soon joining the Guild of her dreams.

"All right! I'll see you at the party!" He turned around and snapped, his magic seal appearing in front of him. He performed his **Red Carpet** and flew away, just like last time.

"Understood!" Lucy stood there with hearts for eyes when she suddenly realized something.

"I was pseudo-charmed!" She closed her eyes. "But... Yatta! I can get into Fairy Tail!" She jumped and punched the air in excitement. "I just gotta be nice to that idiot until then!" She said with a mischievous smile and a fist in front of her smile, laughing uncontrollably.

* * *

Nighttime

"Hahaha! We ate a lot!"

"Aye!"

Gray and Happy were standing in the middle of a street. Gray had his back on a railing and Happy was sitting on it. Happy noticed something far in the distance.

"Hey, is that the boat that Salamander is throwing a party on?"

Gray turned his head and saw the boat that happy was talking about. Without diverting his gaze, he reached into his pocket and took out a cigarette. He lit in and inhaled it, then releasing a puff of smoke.

"Oh yeah, that guy said he was having a party..."

"Look! That's Salamander-sama's boat!"

Gray and Happy looked to their side to the source of the voice. They found three girls who were watching the boat.

"I wish I could've gone!"

"Salamander?"

"You haven't heard? The famous mage Salamander is in town! I heard he's a member of Fairy Tail!"

The mention of the Guild's name made the two make a noise of surprise. Particularly for Gray, it brought immense anger.

"Fairy Tail...?" Gray turned to the boat and took another inhale of his cigarette. "Fairy Tail." He repeated the Guild's name and looked at the boat with contempt.

* * *

"Lucy you say? That's a pretty name."

"Thank you!"

Salamander and Lucy sat in a room, Salamander had poured two glasses of champagne for them

"Let's start with a toast." He snapped his fingers, and bubbles of the champagne had floated in the air. "Now, open your mouth and savor the jewels of champagne as they enter your mouth" he told her.

"Creepy!" Lucy got the chills when he had said that. 'Be strong Lucy, you have to be strong!' she thought to herself. She suddenly got up and slapped the bubbles away.

"What's the big idea?" She asked him. "That was a sleep spell." Salamander brought a hand to his chin and chuckled.

"I'm impressed." He told her.

"Don't get the wrong idea. I want to join Fairy Tail, but I have no intention of being your girl." Lucy said to Salamander. Said man laughed at her response.

"You're a tough one." As soon as he had said that, the curtains in his room opened, revealing many men carrying just as many women, all of them unconscious.  
Lucy made a noise of surprise.

"What's going on here?!" She asked, suddenly having a big feeling about Salamander.

"Welcome to my boat. You will have to behave until we reach Bosco... little miss." He told her with a dark look.

"Bosco? What about Fairy Tail?" Lucy asked fiercely. Fairy Tail was located in Magnolia, so why would they be going to Bosco?

"Forget about it. You're our merchandise now." He told her coldly. Lucy couldn't believe what she had heard.

"What?! Then these women...?" Salamander's henchmen started to laugh at Lucy's predicament. Lucy turned to face the henchmen.

"Way to go Salamander-san!"

"We get ourselves a big haul!"

Lucy turned back to the Salamander, eyes burning with hatred. "Why you!" She reached for her back and pulled out a large ring with keys on it. Salamander anticipated some sort of counterattack from Lucy. He sent a wave of purple fire at Lucy, making her drop her keys. Salamander picked up the keys and made a sound of acknowledgement.

"Gateway keys... So you're a Celestial Spirit Mage." Salamander commented, impressed with the rarity of such magic. "However, only those with a contract can use these, meaning they are worthless to me." Salamander threw the keys off the boat, landing in the water. Lucy started shaking in anger at Salamander's actions.

'Who is this guy?! I can't believe a mage in Fairy Tail would do something like this! Using magic for evil, to fool people...' Lucy's eyes starting tearing, and eventually, they cascading down her checks.

"You're the worst kind of mage there is!" She told them boldly. The henchmen approached her, roughly grabbing her by the arms when something crashed through the ceiling. Everyone covered their eyes from the wood that flew everywhere from the impact. When the smoke cleared, Lucy smiled at what made the impact, while the others looked on in shock.

"Gray!" She said wiping the tears from her eyes. Her happy expression soon turned into shock and embarrassment at Gray appearance. A blush formed on her cheeks Salamander and his henchmen looked at Gray with confusion.

"Where the hell are your pants?!" Lucy shouted at him. Gray looked down and realized that he was only wearing his boxers. He made a sound of distressed and looked everywhere in the room to find them. "So uncool!" Lucy commented.

"What's going on Lucy?" Lucy looked at the hole in the ceiling and saw Happy.

"Happy! I was tricked, he said he could get me into Fairy Tail" Lucy told him of the situation but suddenly realized something about Happy. "Wait, you have wings?!" Lucy asked in shock. Salamander and his men stood there dumbfounded, sporting a similar expression on their faces.

"We can talk later!" Happy told her. Salamander snapped out of his daze and saw Happy carrying Lucy, flying away from the boat. "Let's go!" Happy said, and he started flying, with Lucy screaming in fright.

"Tch. After them! We can't have them report to the council on us!" He ordered his men. Lucy and Happy were getting far away from the boat, but Lucy was confused about why Happy didn't take Gray with him.

"Wait! What about Gray?" She asked Happy.

"I can't carry two people." Happy simply replied.

"You're not going anywhere! **Prominence Whip**!" Salamander shouted the name of his attack and a magic seal appeared in front of him. Many streaks of purple fire come out of the circle and followed Lucy and Happy. The whips of fire tried to catch Happy but Happy nimbly dodged every one of them. Lucy, meanwhile, was screaming in fright of what was going on. Eventually, Happy managed to dodge all of the fire, and managed to make them collide with each other, creating a fireworks-like explosion.

"Oooh! Pretty!" Some guy shouted.

"Damn that nimble cat!" Salamander said in contempt.

"Hey..." Salamander and his men turned and saw Gray standing without his pants, having given up his search. He stood there, his arms crossed and looking at them with an angry look.

"We have to go get Gray and the rest of the women!" Lucy exclaimed, worried about the well-being of the people on this boat.

"Lucy I have to tell you something" Happy suddenly told her.

"What?! Now isn't a good time!" Lucy exclaimed, getting impatient with Happy's lack of action. Suddenly Happy lost his wings.

"My transformation is over." Happy simply told her. Lucy and Happy were suddenly falling to the sea very quickly.

"You damn cat!" Lucy screamed in frustration. Happy just "Aye!"'d in response, not affected by Lucy's anger. They landed in the water, and Lucy immediately started to swim, while Happy's head painfully collided with a rock. Lucy swam towards a shinning light, and to her delight, she found her keys

"We still have to get to Bosco" Salamander absentmindedly said. He paid no attention to his men, who were currently surrounding Gray. One of them lunged towards Gray, attempting to attack him, but Gray simply raised his hand and caught the man's arm.

"Fairy Tail" Gray started, getting the attention of everyone present. "You guys are with Fairy Tail?!" He asked with anger.

Lucy and Happy emerged from the water. More like Lucy emerged and Happy just... floated. Lucy smirked in determination.

"Here I go!"

Lucy suddenly grabbed on of her keys and was preparing to activate it.

"**Hirake! Houheikyu no Tobira! Aquarius!"(Open! Gate of the Water Bearer! Aquarius!)  
**

She slammed the key into the water and a blue magic seal appeared where the key struck. A torrent of water formed and when it disappeared, a mermaid like figure carrying a jug emerged from the water.

"A fish?!" Happy asked excitedly, his mouth watering.

"Absolutely not." Lucy simply stated, slapping Happy on the forehead.

"That's amazing!" Happy said, admiring Lucy's magic.

"I _am_ a celestial spirit mage after all" Lucy stated proudly. "I can use gatekeys to summon celestial spirits from another world!" Lucy explained. She suddenly turned to face the boat. "Aquarius! Use your power to push that ship back to the port!" She ordered, pointing at that boat.

Aquarius turned to Lucy with an angry look on her face. "Tch." Lucy suddenly had a shocked expression on her face.

"Did you just 'Tch' me?!" Lucy shouted, not believing her spirit's attitude.

"That's not really something worth getting upset about." Happy simply stated.

"Listen carefully annoying child." Aquarius started with an eerily calm voice. "Drop my key again and I will kill you." Lucy and Happy were suddenly scared.

"W-we're terribly sorry!" They both said. Aquarius then gathered several amounts of water into her jug and spun around violently. Her sipping caused the water to create a tsunami, destroying the boat and carrying the people on board, Lucy, and Happy to the boat.

"Don't sweep me into the attack!" Lucy shouted spinning in the water. She was in disbelief that her spirit would carelessly hurt her. A giant wave of water carried the boat and the people to the beach of Hargeon, just like Lucy requested, though a lot more violently than she had hoped.

"What is wrong with you?! Why did you sweep me along with it?!" Lucy furiously asked her spirit.

"Whoops. I accidentally got the boat too." Lucy had a comical expression of shock on her face.

"You were aiming for _me_?!" Lucy asked in disbelief. Aquarius turned her back to Lucy.

"Don't call me for a while. I'm going on a week long trip with my boyfriend. With my boyfriend." She announced as she disappeared, emphasizing her last sentence, which annoyed Lucy.

"I heard you the first time!" She shouted annoyed

"Hey Lucy! When we apologized before... I don't think I needed to after all" Happy stated.

"I don't even know what to do with this dumb cat." Lucy said face-palming. The giant wave and the boat on the beach attracted a large crowd of people, wondering what had happened.

"Damn. What the hell..." Salamander said getting up from the rubble. He looked to the top of the boat and saw Gray standing with an unreadable expression. Lucy and Happy were running towards the boat, worried for Gray's safety. They suddenly stopped when they saw Gray's expression.

"_You're_ a Fairy Tail mage?" Gray asked calmly.

"Yeah, so what?!" Salamander replied annoyed. "Go get him." Salamander told his men. The men agreed without question.

"Let me get a good look at you." Gray said taking off his coat. Salamander's men started charging towards Gray.

"Gray!" Lucy shouted in worry.

"Don't worry about a thing." Happy told her, suddenly biting a fish that somehow appeared in his hands. "We should've told you before, but Gray is a mage too." Happy simply said, which garnered a shock expression from Lucy. Two men charged at Gray, who simply swatted them away.

"I'm Gray from Fairy Tail! I've never seen you before in my life!" Gray announced, angry burning in his eyes.

"Wha-!" Salamander was in shock with what Gray said.

"Fairy Tail?"! Lucy couldn't believe it as well. The mage she had met today was from the Guild of her dreams?!

"I'm not gonna let you insult the Fairy Tail name any longer!" Gray announced as he walked slowly towards Salamander.

"Oh yeah?! What are you going to do about it?! **Prominence Typhoon**!" Salamander created a magic seal and sent a spiraling wave of fire at Gray. Gray stood there and the fire exploded around him.

"Gray!" Lucy shouted, afraid that Gray was hurt. She was about to run to Gray but Happy floated in the air and stood in front of her, preventing her from doing so.  
The women from the boat suddenly woke and ran away from the fight in confusion and fear.

"The bigger they talk, the weaker they are." Salamander said confidently as he turned around and started to walk.

"Man, that was weak." A voice said. Salamander and his men turned to the fire in disbelief. "Are you really a fire wizard?" The voice asked. Soon the fire started to _freeze_ as Gray revealed himself. He had a smirk on his face and a cigarette in his lips. The fire managed to burn his shirt, but it actually hadn't hurt him. Additionally, it had managed to light Gray's smoke. When all of the fire was frozen and the smoke cleared, everyone could clearly see the dark blue Fairy Tail emblem on his right pectoral muscle.

"Thanks for the fire, I ran out of matches." Gray stated.

"B-Bora-san, that mark is the real deal!" One of men of Salamander said in fear. The Salamander, or Bora, as he was now identified, looked towards the man in frustration.

"Idiot, don't call me by that name!" He quickly reprimanded.

"Bora, Bora the Prominence." Happy said, gathering Lucy's attention. "That guy was kicked out of the Titan Nose Guild years ago." Happy finished, fully identifying the man impersonating the Salamander.

"I don't care if you're a good guy or a bad guy..." Gray said as he walked towards Bora's group. "But I won't let you tarnish Fairy Tail or my best friend's name!" Gray said with conviction. As he walked, the ground froze with each step he took. Bora's group and Lucy looked at Gray in shock.

"W-W-W-W-Who is this guy?!" Bora asked frantically.

"He froze the fire?! I've never seen such magic!" Lucy said in amazement.

"That fire's too weak for Gray." Happy said.

"You call that magic? I'll show you real magic" Gray smirked as he taunted Bora. He brought his fist and placed his perpendicular to his open hand. A blue magic seal formed in front of his hands.

"Don't get cocky kid! **Hell's Prominence!" **Bora created a large laser-like beam of purple fire and aimed it towards Gray. However, Bora had panicked beforehand, so instead of hitting Gray, he completely missed and instead, destroyed half the town. Gray was unfazed by the attack, and retaliated with his own.

"**Ice-Make: Cannon!**" A cannon of ice appeared in Gray's hands. He jumped and shot a blast at Bora's group, defeating all of them, except Bora himself. The attack had also destroyed some houses in the town. Using his **Red Carpet** he flew away from the attack and retaliated.

**"Red Shower!" **Several bullets of fire came out of Bora's fire seal, all aiming for Gray. Gray dodged them and charged towards Bora, ice engulfing his hands. He jumped and punched Bora.

"He attacks and creates things out of ice. Is that really magic?" Lucy wondered in amazment.

"Gray specializes in a type of magic that allows him to create anything out of ice. It's an extremely versatile magic for offensive, defensive, or any other purpose. This magic gives him limitless potential to create anything. **Ice-Make Magic!"**

Bora was getting frustrated. This kid dodged every attack he sent him and he kept getting hit. He was getting desperate. By now the magic council must've been aware of the ruckus that their fight was causing, and he had no doubt that the Rune Knights would be coming. He had to finish this fight quickly. He created a giant fireball-looking skull and threw it towards Gray. Gray just smirked and stood there. As the fireball approached him, it started to freeze. The fireball completely froze and shattered before it even touched Gray. Bora and Lucy looked at Gray in shock.

"That was weak. Now asshole, here's the power of a Fairy Tail mage!" Gray said as he brought his hands together like last time. He jumped in the air and a sword formed.

"**Ice-Make: Sword!"**

Gray swung his ice sword at Bora, defeating him. Gray swung with such intensity that Bora was sent flying and hit the bell in a bell tower.

"Gray, we don't use the power of Fairy Tail to ring bells." Happy commented.

"Wow! That was great... But he went a little overboard!"

"Aye!" Happy said excitedly, oblivious to Lucy's worry.

"Don't 'Aye!' me!" Lucy retorted. Lucy suddenly heard lots of footsteps and a feeling of dread washed over her. "The army?!" The army of the Magic Council, the Rune Knights were quickly approaching. If they saw her, Lucy would've been brought in for questioning, suspecting that she had something to do with the town's destruction. Before she could feel anymore dread, a hand suddenly grasped hers and ran very quickly.

"Crap, we have to hurry up and get the hell out of here!" Gray frantically shouted, dragging Lucy along with him.

"Why do I have to?!" Lucy asked in confusion.

"You wanted to join our Guild, didn't you?" Gray asked rhetorically. Lucy looked at him in shock. Gray gave her a warm smile. "Come on, let's go." Lucy had a big smile on her face.

"Okay!" Lucy ran for her life, but was very happy. She was finally going to join the Guild of her dreams, and for real this time!

* * *

In an unknown location.

A lone figure was walking a long path. He was a rosy haired man carrying a bag over his shoulder. He suddenly stopped and looked towards the sky. He let out a heavy sigh.

"It's almost that time of the year." He said to himself quickly. He started walking again and picked up his pace.

"I gotta go back soon, for her sake."

* * *

A/N: And there you have it! Chapter 5 of The Dragon's Regret! I apologize again for taking so damn long with this one. I kinda got distracted by a lot of things and I hate myself for it. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! It's quite literally me watching the first episode of Fairy Tail, and writing down everything that the characters did. Though halfway through I realized I could've just wrote something from my memory, and could've saved myself I lot of time instead of watching 10 seconds of Fairy Tail, pausing, and thinking about how to write out the scene I just watched.

But anyway I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. Any reviews, whether they be positive, or constructive criticisms, are appreciated! Any mistakes, whether they be grammatical, spelling, or whatever, please feel free to address.

BTW: Are they called Wizards or mages? I've seen translations with both and I can never seem to find out which works better. I use mage, but if it really is wizard, I'll change that from now on


	6. Chapter 6: Meeting the Guild

A/N: Hey Guys! Insanelee here and I'm back with another chapter for the Dragon's Regret! I'm posting chapters rapidly because I haven't been updating in a while and I got some reviews that said that I should update soon. For being such faithful fans of my first work, I'm going to attempt to update as much as I can. School's gonna start for me pretty soon, so I better get started.

I have also created a twitter account. If you want to be kept up to date with my story and what not, follow me at **InsaneleeFFnet. **I'll be tweeting about when I'm going to update, what story I'm updating, when I'll post a new chapter, and hints about what the chapter will be about.

Without further ado, I gave you Chapter 6.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail.

Text - General

**Text **– Spell Names

_Text - _Flashback and Narrator

'Text' – Thoughts

"Text" – Dialogue

* * *

July 3, X784, Era

Currently in Era, a meeting involving the Magic Council was underway. They are discussing the destructive tendencies of Fairy Tail, and Gray's recent activities in Hargeon. The nine members of the council gathered in their private meeting room, standing over a giant blue magic seal.

"Those idiots from Fairy Tail have done it again!" A council member angrily stated. "They destroyed half a port!"

"Honestly, now" Another member said. A blue haired member of the council chuckled at the situation.

"Hmph, I'm actually rather fond of those fools, to be quite honest." He commented. The council member next to him, a short old man, agreed with his opinion.

"Yes, while they may be rambunctious, they proved themselves to be a very capable lot." The old man voiced his opinion.

"They certainly are a handful" another member stated.

"Let them be" The blue haired man started, "The world would be a dull place without people like them."

* * *

"Here we are!" Gray announced, dropping his bags and spreading his arms wide. Lucy stared at the building in front of her in happiness and disbelief. She was here. She was actually here.

"Aye! Welcome to Fairy Tail!" Happy announced, flying in front of the doors to the Guild. Lucy was filling up with excitement. She couldn't wait to go inside and meet everyone!

"Wow… It's even better than I thought…." Lucy trailed off, still not in belief that she was about to enter the Guild of her dreams! "It looks so much cooler in person…" Lucy said, admiring the building. The building where all of the mages who performed their crazy antics that were reported on Sorcerer Magazine gathered was right in front of her. She was tearing up when she realized her dream came true.

"Well then, let's go!" Gray said as he opened the door. Actually, the term "kicking the door open" is more appropriate. He kicked the door open, and announced his return.

Chapter 6: Introductions

break

"I'm back!" Gray shouted.

"We're back!" Happy shouted. As soon as the door was kicked open and the two announced their return, all eyes in the building were focused on them.

"Welcome back!"

"Hey!"

"Wow!" Lucy stepped inside and admired the mages that were present.

Everyone in the Guild greeted them. Lucy noticed that everyone looked happy that the two were back, and they looked even happier when they saw her. However, she also noticed that everyone looked… disappointed for some reason. Did they not like her? Did she not meet the standard of Fairy Tail? Was she going to be rejected? All of these thoughts ran through her mind, but before she could worry herself any further, Gray surprised her when he greeted one of his guildmates.

"You really went all out this time! I heard Hargeon was-"A bucktoothed member of Fairy Tail was talking to Gray about his misadventures in Hargeon when Gray suddenly kicked him in the face, making him crash into a table.

"You lying asshole!" Gray angrily shouted as Lucy looked on in shock and confusion. Gray had attacked a fellow guildmate. Weren't they supposed to be friends?

"Why…?!" Lucy shouted in confusion. Gray raised his fist in a threatening manner and shouted at his guildmate.

"Your info on the Salamander was wrong!" His guildmate got up from the rubble and angrily shouted at Gray.

"Don't blame me! I was just passing on a rumor I heard!" He countered.

"That was a rumor?!" Gray shouted in disbelief. Lucy only stood in disbelief. She didn't know how to make of the situation.

"You wanna fight?!" At this, Gray immediately punched his guildmate again, sending him crashing into other tables with other people, making them fly as well. Happy just stood on a table, unaffected by Gray's actions, and went to calm him down.

"Now now" Happy started, waving his paw up and down in the air, "Gray I think that's enough-" A flying body crashed into Happy and Happy flew off the table. Eventually, everyone in the Guild started fighting in each other. Instead of being worried for her safety, Lucy stood there, admiring the Guild's legendary rambunctiousness.

"Wow! I'm really here… in Fairy Tail!" While everyone was fighting, Lucy took the time to look around the building, and found some interesting members that weren't fighting.

"You're back for two minutes and you're already starting a fight" Lucy saw a beautiful woman sitting in a bar stool with a glass of wine in her hands.

_This woman is Cana Alberona – Fairy Tail's heaviest drinker_

She had long flowing brown hair that almost reached her waist, wearing a light blue bikini top, brown pants that stopped at her calves, and high heeled sandals.

"This is why I can't stand the men here, they all have no class." She proceeded to pick up a barrel of sake and chug it, much to the surprise of Lucy. She wanted to say something, but the loud footsteps of an approaching figure stopped her. She turned around and she saw a very large, threatening looking man. He had spiky white hair, a scar over his right eye, wearing dark blue pants and a dark blue jacket, and geta sandals with explained the loud footsteps.

"It's only noon and you guys are already whining and crying? You guys aren't kids you know."

_This man is Elfman Strauss, a musclebrain mage who solves every problem with his two fists._

"Real men talk with their fists!" Elfman announced as he raised his fist in the air. Lucy sighed in exasperation at Elfman's strange personality.

"He's encouraging them to fight…" Gray saw Elfman and smirked in excitement.

"Elfman, fight me!" Gray shouted to him. Elfman turned to him with an uninterested look in his eyes.

"Hmph. Real men fight with clothes on." Elfman said, annoying Gray. His eye twitched rapidly as he ran up to Elfman and delivered a solid punch to him, sending him flying, much to the surprise of Lucy once again.

"Mind your own business!" Gray shouted to Elfman as he punched him.

"He's knocked out just like that?!" Lucy shouted in shock. The big scary looking mage was defeated by Gray in one hit. Maybe he isn't that strong after all? As Lucy began to collect her thoughts, a voice from behind brought her out of her reprieve.

"Ugh, how noisy."

"Ne, Loke…"

Lucy turned around to find a man sitting at a table with a woman on both of his sides, his arms draping over their shoulders.

_This man is Loke, one of the highest ranking mages on the "most desired bachelor mages" list._

He had a sparkly look to him, which both enticed and creeped Lucy. He had short, spiky orange hair, wore a green coat with fur on the collar, an orange shirt, black pants and white sneakers. He also had a pair of sunglasses on him. He gave a smile to Lucy, who blushed in return. Suddenly, a mug hit Loke in the head, making his head go back, leaving a mark on his forehead. He growled in annoyance before he got up calmly, as if nothing had happened. He stood up, which made the two girls stand as well. He gave them a charming smile and a thumbs up, and spoke in a reassuring tone.

"I'm gonna join the fight! For you girls!" He smiled at them, his teeth sparkling. The women swooned over him, completely charmed by his actions.

"Good luck, Loke!"

Lucy looked on with annoyance, as she reached for a magazine and turned the pages, looking for a specific section. She reached the "Most Desired Bachelor Mages" section and found Loke at Number 2. She got a red marker and wrote a giant X over his face.

"He's off my list for sure." She closed the magazine and made an exasperated expression. "What is wrong with this Guild? There isn't one normal person here." She examined the brawl that the Guild was participating which proved her point. Everyone was fighting! She couldn't find one person, besides Cana who was drinking, that wasn't fighting.

"Ara, are you new here?"

Lucy turned to the sight of the voice and her eyes widened and a blush formed on her cheecks.

"Mirajane! It's really you!"

_This woman is Mirajane Strauss, a mage whose photo spreads are featured in Sorcerer Magazine._

The woman now identified as Mirajane gave a small smile at Lucy's reaction. The beauty of Mirajane was renowned, but seeing her up close was something else. She wore a long, sleeveless maroon dress and wore her long white hair in pony tail that was in the front. Lucy snapped out of her reverie at the sudden increase in noise of the Guild brawl. She turned to Mirajane and back at the brawl and had a worried look on her face. She turned back to Mirajane and pointed at the fight.

"Sh-Shouldn't we stop them?" Lucy asked, worried for her health and for Mirajane's, the only normal person she found in the Guild. Mirajane just smiled at her reaction, expecting as much, and faced the brawl.

"They're always like this. Just leave them be." Mirajane turned back to Lucy. "Besides-"Mirajane was suddenly interrupted by Elfman, who flew by and crashed into her, sending them both crashing into a table. Lucy yelped at what just happened and looked at Mira, scared for her health. However, to her shock, Mirajane kept her smile, despite a lump forming on her head. "It's fun this way, don't you think?" Mira finished as she fell unconscious. Her soul flew out of her mouth, scaring Lucy.

"Ahhhh! Mirajane-san!" Lucy was flailing her arms frantically, not knowing what to do with the Guild's rambunctious behavior, and Mirajane's injury. Before she could worry any more, Gray crashed into her. Loke stood in front of the two triumphantly, twirling Gray's boxers with his finger. Gray looked at what Loke had and got pissed.

"Ah! My boxers!" Gray shouted while Lucy screamed and covered her eyes. Just a moment ago, Gray was fully clothed. How was it that he managed to lose all of his clothes in the blink of an eye?! She covered her eyes, not wanting to see Gray's family jewels, a heavy blush adorning her cheeks. Gray however, was unaware of how uncomfortable his state of dress was making her feel, so he casually walked up to her and sticked his hand out in front of her.

"Excuse me Lucy, can I borrow some of your underwear?" He asked as if it was the most normal thing in the world. Lucy reacted by grabbing an object and whacked Gray with it, sending him flying.

"As if!" She yelled as Gray and his jewels were far away from her. Just as quickly as she hit him, Loke suddenly swooped her and carried her bridal style.

"I simply can't stand how these insensitive fools act around ladies." He said as he gave her another one of his smiles. However, Elfman, who seemed to have miraculously recovered from whatever it was that hit him, suddenly punched Loke and sent him flying.

"Real men speak with their fists!" Elfman repeated as Loke screamed while flying. Gray suddenly got his boxers back on and kicked Elfman away, telling him to butt out, as Happy "Aye!"d. Over at the counter, Cana huffed in annoyance, a tick mark forming on her forehead.

"How annoying! So much for having a drink in peace." Cana then pulled out a card and a magic seal formed in front of her and the card. "You guys better knock it off!" Her preparation to use magic caused some of the other members to prepare their magic to retaliate.

"Now I'm mad!" Gray said as he positioned his hands in his trademark pose, and an icy blue magic seal formed in front of him. Elfman formed a purple magic seal in his hand and raised his arm in the air. The magic seal grew in diameter and descended down Elfman's right arm, turning it into stone. Elfman gave out a battle cry, ready to fight and prove his manliness. Loke simply grasped the ring on one of his fingers and it emitted a bright green light. A green magic seal formed in front of him.

"You guys are such a nuisance." He stated. Lucy suddenly became scared for her life, more so than what happened at Hargeon. She grabbed Happy and put him in front of her, intending to use him as a shield.

"They're gonna fight with magic?!" Lucy yelled. Happy, who had a talisman around his neck that said "Shield", looked unfazed at the escalading situation around them. He only gave his typical "Aye!" response, which did not help calm Lucy's feelings. "Don't 'Aye!' me!" she said in despair. As everyone was about to move, Lucy heard a voice that gave off a commanding and scary aura.

"What do you people think you're doing?!" She heard the voice yell in anger. Everyone suddenly tensed and got a fearful look in their eyes, which amazed Lucy that one person could stop an entire fight. Everyone looked up to the second story and found a beautiful, but angry, scarlet haired, armor wearing woman.

_This woman is Erza Scarlet; her legendary strength granted her the title of 'Titania' and is one of Fairy Tail's strongest members._

"I thought I told you guys not to fight!" She yelled at them, making everyone flinch, including Lucy who was scared at how commanding she could be. "You guys are all a part of the same Guild. You guys are Nakama. You guys are like family to each other. You guys shouldn't be fighting! Families aren't supposed to fight, and yet here you are, having the audacity to use magic against each other?!" Erza reprimanded them harshly, making them feel guilty about themselves, even Lucy who hasn't done anything. Erza sighed and spoke again, "You guys should be ashamed of yourselves. The Master may not care about your behavior but I do! No more fighting!" The tone in her voice left no room for arguments. Everyone immediately put their hands down, their magic seals dissipating as they did. Erza gave a gentle, genuine smile as everyone calmed down.

'She must be the Guild Master if she made everyone calm down like that!' Lucy thought frantically. She tone of voice and how she carried herself, it made sense that she would be the Guild Master. Before she could ponder further, she suddenly heard a voice, and who it came from shocked Lucy.

"Hmph. 'You guys should be ashamed of yourselves' she says. 'You shouldn't be fighting' she says. Stop talking like you're everyone's senpai!" Mira taunted. Everyone suddenly lost all the color on their faces, while Lucy looked baffled at Mira's change in demeanor. When she had entered the Guild, Mira was the one of the nicest people she had met, and that was only for a couple of minutes! Now here she was, taunting Erza with an evil smirk on her face. It scared Lucy how that gentle, serene smile of Mira's could turn into an evil and menacing smirk. She slowly backed away from whatever could happen between Erza and Mira. Speaking of Erza, a tick mark formed on her forehead and her eye twitched violently.

"Come to think of it, I've been meaning to talk to you, Mirajane." Erza said coldly, as everyone looked scared for whatever would happen. "The cheesecake that I've been saving for myself is missing from the fridge. You wouldn't happen to know where it is, do you Mirajane?" Everyone gulped and started sweating bullets at what Erza said. While normally Erza was the scariest thing that walked the earth, whenever someone messed with her cheesecake, Erza became an unspeakable horror.

"Why are you asking me?" Mira asked with a smirk. "I wouldn't eat the garbage you call food in the first place. It's too sweet, and it'll make you fat if you eat too much of it. You should know about that, right Erza? I mean I have noticed-"Mira couldn't finish her sentence as a sword flew passed her head and was stuck in the wall. Mira, instead of being scared, only smirked wider at Erza's reaction. The tension in the air was so thick you could cut it. Everyone stood there, not wanting to incur the wrath of either woman. So people we're so focused that they forgot to breathe. Erza stood at the second floor, her body shaking with rage at Mira.

"That's it Mira! Fight me now!" Erza openly challenged Mira, which resulted in the unanimous reaction that went like this.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHH HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!"

Everyone in the Guild was baffled at the exchange between the two women. Erza had just preached to them not to fight with each other. She made them feel like crap that they would use magic against one another and yet here she was challenging Mira to a fight.

"That's more like it! We still haven't settled our score from yesterday!" Mira said as she charged at Erza, who charged at her back. Mira kicked at Erza who responded with her own kick. The two legs met each other and the force behind the two attacks created a small shockwave that left everyone in shock. The power behind the two attacks was baffling. Lucy looked on in fear and amazement. She was scared what damage these two women could inflict on the Guild. Mirajane who was known as the 'Demon' and Erza Scarlet the 'Titania' who managed to silence the Guild singlehandedly, were duking it out in the Guild. On the other hand, she admired the strength of the model Mirajane and Erza who wasn't the Guild Master, but had the heart of one. Mira kicked Erza, which sent her flying into Gray who crashed into Elfman. Needless to say, the brawl had restarted, and Erza ignored it just to settle a personal score with Mira. Lucy, haven gotten used to the Guild's love of fighting, laughed at the situation while still mildly fearing for her safety. She decided to hide behind a counter but not before a voice called out to her.

"Are you new here?" The voice asked, making Lucy jump in fright. She searched for the source of the voice and found a short old man sitting cross legged on the counter, casually sitting his mug of beer. He also seemed unusually calm about the ongoing violence which interested Lucy. He turned to her and gave her an expectant glare, waiting to hear Lucy's answer. She realized why he was looking at her like that and blushed in embarrassment.

"Uh, y-yes I am." She replied nervously. The glare he was giving her gave off an aura of experience and unyielding strength. He laughed at her nervousness, which only made Lucy more nervous.

"Don't be so nervous, I'm not going to hurt you" He replied which helped calm down Lucy. However, he suddenly gave her a lecherous smile, which made her nervousness return tenfold. "I'm always accepting new members, and you would be a wonderful addition to the Guild." He said with a blush and a giggle. Lucy was so freaked out by his behavior that she smacked him the way she did with Loke. The old man fell off the counter, but quickly climbed back up. "A feisty one, I'm really starting to like you" he said with a perverted grin. Lucy was about to hit him again when she heard the Guild doors open. She noticed that no one else had heard the doors open and turned to face the person at the door. He had long, spiky, rosy hair that reached his shoulders, with bangs in the front of his face. He wore a black trench coat with a white shirt and a red v-neck collar, green pants, brown boots*, a scarf around his neck, and a travel pack over his shoulder. The most shocking feature of this man to Lucy was the scar over his right eye and a ring on his right finger. He let out a tired sigh as he evaded flying bodies and made his way toward the counter where Lucy and the old man were.

"Yo Natsu, welcome back" The old man announced as he took a sip of his beer. Lucy looked at the newcomer with wide eyes. This was the man that Gray was looking for in Hargeon?

"I'm finally back, Jiji (old man)!" Natsu said as he sat down and sprawled all over the counter. The master laughed at Natsu's expense and got a mug and filled it with beer and gave it to Natsu, much to his delight. The two drank in comfortable silence, while Lucy felt awkward that she didn't know who these two really were. "It was horrible Jiji, I had to take so many trains a freaking boat to get back!"Natsu told the old man what he had to go through to return to the Guild. Suddenly, Natsu's stomach growled. He blushed in embarrassment and scratched the back of his head.

"Do you have any food on you Jiji?" Natsu asked, to which the old man shook his head no. Natsu sighed as he returned to his drink. As he was about to drink it, a body flew towards Natsu and crashed into him, sending both of them crashing through the counter. The flying person immediately got up and returned to the fight while Natsu was still on the ground. After a while, Natsu got up with an angry look in his eyes. The fact that he had to take so many modes of transportation made Natsu incredibly irritable. He got up from the rubble and fist was engulfed in flames, shocking Lucy.

"You guys…" Natsu muttered as he slowly walked forward. His presence still went unnoticed by the Guild. The old man grabbed Lucy by the wrist and took her somewhere, knowing what Natsu was about to do. "Cut that shit out, you dumbasses!" He screamed as he smashed his fist into the ground. The fire from his fist traveled to the ground and spread through the several cracks in the floor. The power from the fire resulted in a giant explosion that stopped the fight, while at the same time, destroying and burning everything inside the Guild. Lucy returned from the basement, the safe place where the old man took her and inspected the damage in awe. Everyone that was fighting looked dazed and finally noticed that Natsu came back. They were about to give him belated greetings but were stopped by an irate Natsu.

"What the hell is the matter with you guys?! I came back after a year of training and none of you say 'Hello' or 'Welcome back'?! And why do you guys keep fighting all the time? I can't even have a drink in peace! Look at all the damage you guys caused!" Natsu angrily yelled, which scared most of the Guild members.

"But Natsu, you-"Someone frightfully started; trying to point out that Natsu had caused the damage and not them.

"Don't talk back!" Natsu yelled at the guy. Lucy yelled in fright at Natsu's tone, which got his attention.

"Huh? You got something to say?!" Natsu asked with a comically angry look on his face. Lucy yelped and said a quick "No" when Natsu noticed that she was unfamiliar to him. He calmed down considerably and walked to the girl.

"I've never seen you around here before. Are you new here?" He asked. Lucy, noticing that Natsu wasn't angry, tried to answer his question.

"Y-yes I am" Lucy stuttered, scared of what Natsu. He inspected her, his eyes travelling up and down her figure. She quickly covered herself, feeling self-conscious about her figure before Natsu did something that shocked her. He leaned forward… and smelled her. Lucy's face turned many shades of red. He took many sniffs of her scent before Lucy realized what he was doing and smack him away, like she did many times before today. Natsu crashed into a charred wall, while Lucy angrily shouted at him.

"What the hell do you think you're doing you pervert?!" She asked indignantly. Natsu got up from the rubble and gave her an unreadable expression. Lucy's anger turned into fright, suddenly remembering Natsu's feat of strength from before. She quickly starting sending apologies to him before Natsu laughed. He laughed. Very loudly. His laugh made Lucy stop apologizing and look at him in surprise.

"You'd make a fine addition to the Guild" Natsu said as he stopped laughing. Lucy blushed at what he said. While what he said brought a smile to his face, Lucy was still angry at what Natsu did. As Natsu picked up from the rubble, a new voice was heard from the Guild doors.

"Oh my, what happened in here?" Everyone turned to the doors and found a wild haired bluenette girl, around 17 years old, staring wide eyed at the damage caused by Natsu. She inspected the charred interior of the Guild before her eyes laid on Natsu. She had a big grin on her face before she ran up and hugged Natsu as tightly as she could.

"Natsu! You're back!" The girl said as she hugged Natsu. Natsu laughed and returned the hug, spinning her in the process. The girl had her own fit of laughter while she was spinning. Eventually, Natsu stopped spinning and the two released each other from the hug.

"It's good to be back, Levy" Natsu said to the girl now identified as Levy. He turned to the rest of the Guild with a condescending look on his face. "You see guys? This is how you greet someone!" He yelled to the group, who only mumbled in response. He turned to face Levy again, before he remembered something. "Oh that's right! I got you something!" He opened his travel pack and pulled out a rather large book and gave it to Levy, much to her delight. She squealed in delight and hugged Natsu, continuously thanking him.

Shortly afterwards, the Guild cheered loudly for Natsu's return, and they all rushed towards him, giving him belated greetings. The entire Guild was celebrating the return of Natsu while Lucy stood awkwardly at the side, unsure of what to do. She was snapped out of her thoughts when a giant figure suddenly come out of nowhere and towered over the crowd of people surrounding Natsu.

"Will you guys knock it off?!" The figure bellowed.

"He's huge!" Lucy shouted, her eyes bulging out of their sockets at the sheer size of the person. Most of the Guild stopped what they were doing, but otherwise looked unfazed at the appearance of the Giant. Mira just smiled at him.

"Oh Master, you were still here?" She asked casually.

"Yeah" the giant Master replied. Lucy was shocked for the nth time today.

"Master?!" She questioned in shock. Natsu laughed at the situation, while everyone was getting away from Natsu, noticing that the Giant was raising his foot, which Natsu failed to notice.

"Hahahaha, come on Jiji I just came back, no need to get so –"Natsu couldn't finish as the Giant stepped on Natsu, making him stop talking. Lucy made a sound in fright. The giant faced Lucy, making her feel more scared than ever.

"What's your name?" The giant asked. Lucy made another sound in fright, before she answered.

"M-my name is L-Lucy Heartfilia" She replied nervously. The giant nodded before he gave a cry and began shrinking in size. Lucy had a dumbstruck look on her face, staring the shrinking giant before it turned into one of disbelief. The giant was actually the short old man from the counter!

"Nice to meet you Lucy!" The short old man politely greeted to her, raising a hand in the air.

"How small! So wait, this guy is your master?" Lucy asked. Mirajane laughed at her reaction before she answered her.

"Yep! This is Makarov-san, The current Master of Fairy Tail!" Mira formally introduced Lucy to the short old man named Makarov. Makarov turned around and performed an impressive series of aerial flips, before crashing into a banister, making his acrobatics seem less impressive than he intended. He quickly composed himself and stood on top of the charred banister that looked like it would break at any minute. He cleared his throat and looked at the Guild members with an angry and annoyed look on his face. The guild members patiently waited for what their Master had to say.

"You guys have gone and done it again!" He announced at the Guild before presenting a stack of papers to them. "Just look at how much paperwork the council has sent me this time! And it's all complaints!" Lucy looked at the stack of papers in shock. While she had known that Fairy Tail was notorious for its destructive tendencies, she never knew how badly the council reacted to it. The stack of paper in the Master's hands looked small; she had a feeling that there was more somewhere, especially because the Master had said 'this time.' The rest of the guild however, looked unfazed at the papers in the Master's hands, apparently used to the complaints sent by the council.

"All you guys ever do is get the council mad at me!" The master while shaking in what apparently was rage. The Guild members had a downcast look on their face, suddenly feel ashamed of themselves. While the complaints from the council were nothing new to them, getting the master in trouble was not their intention. Lucy looked worriedly at the Master, unsure of what he was going to do next. The Master let out a sigh before he continued.

"However…" He said as the lit the stack of papers in his hand with **Fire Magic. **"To hell with the council!" He shouted as he threw the burning pile at Natsu, who promptly ate it with glee. Lucy didn't notice Natsu eating fire as she was transfixed on the Master and why exactly he would go against a powerful organization like the magic council.

"Listen up! Power that surpasses reason is still born from reason. Magic is not a miraculous power. It is only realized when the flow of energy inside us and the flow of energy in the natural world are in perfect sync! Magic comes from mental strength and focus- no, it comes from your entire soul! Worry about the eyes watching from high above and you will make no progress in the ways of magic! Don't let the fools on the council scare you! Follow the path _you_ believe you! That's what Fairy Tail mages do!" The Master raised a finger in the air, which made everyone cheer and made them do the same thing. Lucy was amazed at the Master's words. They motivated her to do whatever she thought was right and never waver from her path, no matter anyone said to her. After everyone was done cheering, Natsu made everyone rebuild the Guild since, in his logic, they destroyed it. In the meantime, Mira had stamped a pink Fairy Tail emblem on her hand, officially making her a member of Fairy Tail! Lucy was overcome with emotion now that her dream has finally come true.

"Gray look! I got the Fairy Tail mark!"She showed her emblem to Gray. Gray smiled in response.

"Congratulations, Lucy."He congratulated her on becoming a member. L Natsu offered his congratulations too, but after only hearing her name once, he couldn't remember it, so he called her Luigi, which made her angry. Gray and Natsu were standing in front of a request board while Lucy sat on a bar stool. A request board is a bulletin board filled with jobs that people had made for mages to complete in order to get money.

"Pick one that's worth a lot of money, okay?" Happy asked the two, who nodded in response. Natsu saw a job this piqued his interest and picked it up, mostly due to the money he would get for completing it.

"Oh! 160,000 Jewels just to defeat some bandits? I'm in!" Natsu exclaimed, with Happy and Gray supporting his decision. They were about to go when they overhead a conversation between the Master and a little boy.

"Is my dad not back yet?" the little boy asked the master, who was drinking his beer. The master looked at the boy in annoyance.

"You're annoying, Romeo. You're the son of a mage, have faith in him and wait patiently at home!" The master told him, hoping to get him to quiet down.

"But he said he'd be back in three days, but it's been a week now!" The boy now identified as Romeo told the master, not able to wait any longer for his dad.

"If I remember correctly, he went on a job in Mt. Hakobe…." The master recalled, trailing off.

"That isn't _that _far from here! Go look for him!" Romeo yelled at the Master. Romeo had a lot of guts to yell at the Master and to tell him what to do.

"You're dad is a mage! There's no mage in this Guild that can't take care of himself! Go home and have some milk or something!" The Master yelled at the little boy, wanting him to quiet down about his dad.

"Stupidhead!" Romeo actually punched the Master in the face, before running out of the Guild in tears. Lucy, Natsu, Gray, and Mira were listening in to their conversation, and each one of them felt differently about what they had heard. Lucy and Mira were both worried about Romeo and his dad, while Gray and Natsu stared impassively during the entire exchange. Natsu and Gray looked at each other, understanding in their eyes, and left the Guild. Lucy looked at the two, worry laced in her eyes. She knew that they were going to try to find Romeo's dad, and she wanted to help. However, Natsu told her to stay and try to get acquainted with the Guild. Gray backed him up by saying that they wouldn't take long, and the two left the Guild. Lucy, with nothing to do, decided to follow Natsu's advice and talked to some people, hoping to get acquainted with them. She started by talking to the person near her, Mirajane.

"Ne, Mira-san, what's up with Natsu? Why is he acting like that?" She asked Mira. Mira wiped some mugs behind the counter with a sad smile before answering.

"Natsu's in the same boat as Romeo-kun" She started, making Lucy curious as to why Natsu and Romeo are similar. "You see, Natsu was abandoned by his father when he was little. He wasn't his real father, only his foster father. And a dragon at that." Mira said casually.

"Wha? A dragon? Natsu was raised by a dragon?!" Lucy exclaimed, not believing her ears. Lucy couldn't believe that Natsu was raised by a dragon. While she was about to question Mira about the existence of dragon's she vaguely remembered that when she first met Gray, he was looking for Natsu, the son of a dragon. However, she dismissed it as crazy talk because she wanted to clear her head from the  
Bora incident.

"When he was little, Igneel the dragon found Natsu in a forest. He took him in and taught him all about magic, culture, and language. But, one day, Igneel suddenly disappeared. Natsu looks forward to the day that he can see Igneel again" Mira told her. Lucy could now see how Romeo and Natsu were in the same boat. Natsu was abandoned by his dad and he wasn't going to let Romeo's dad was missing. He was not going to let Romeo experience what he had. Lucy was lost in her thoughts when the empty seat next to her was taken by the blue haired girl from before.

"Hey there! Are you new?" The blue haired girl, Levy cheerful greeted Lucy. Lucy turned to the girl and greeting her with a smile.

"Yeah, my name is Lucy! Pleased to meet you!" She said offering her a hand. Levy introduced herself and shook Lucy's hand. Shortly afterwards, she turned her gaze to the book Natsu gave her. Lucy looked at the book with interest.

"What's that book you're reading?" Lucy asked curiously.

"It's an adventure book written by the great Kemu Zaleon" Levy replied, saying the author's name in reverence. Lucy's eyes widened when she had heard the author's name.

"Kemu Zaleon?! I love that guy! I read all of his books!" Lucy said excitedly which made Levy excitedly. Soon they started a conversation about books, what genres they liked, their favorite authors, etc. Lucy eventually told Levy that she wanted to write a novel which greatly excited Levy. She begged Lucy to let her be the first one to read it when she published it, to which she accepted. A great friendship between the two had begun and it was because of the book Natsu gave her. Speaking of which…

"You and Natsu must be really close for him to give you that book" Lucy offhandedly said. Levy raised an eyebrow on Lucy before she had a small blush on her face and a small smile.

"Well, he's kind of like my big brother" She said which surprised Lucy. "When we were younger, Natsu was a bit of a loner. I was a quiet, weak little girl back then. My teammates, Jet and Droy made fun of me when they were younger and Natsu beat them up for me. He said that he would defend me and everyone from Fairy Tail from anything, no matter what. Natsu and I got close after that, and I see him as the brother I never had. Natsu's a really nice guy, you'll see." Levy explained which amazed Natsu. From what she had heard, Natsu was extremely devoted to Fairy Tail. He would protect it from any harm, maybe even at the cost of his own life. She was amazed at the level of dedication Natsu had to his friends.

"Pfft. Nice guy? More like an obnoxious ass" Lucy turned to her side and saw the same alcohol drinking brunette from before. "The name's Cana, nice to meet you" She greeted to which Lucy greeted back. She was chugging a large barrel of alcohol before nesting it in between her legs. She swiped her lips with her hands before she continued. "Natsu always used to pick fights with people all the time. He always breaks things, which means we have to pay for the damages which means I don't get as many drinks as I usually get! And he always talking about being strong to protect the people that he loves, well let me tell you something, he-"

"Cana that's enough!" Lucy looked behind her and saw Erza with a stern look on her face. Her look gave off a threatening aura, but Cana looked unfazed. Cana "Tch"'d before she went back to her barrel.

"Let me just say this Lucy, never introduce anyone to him. He'll just take them away from you…" With that, Cana's drinking efforts had doubled. Lucy was confused at Cana's words while Erza and Levy shook their heads, while Mira had a depressed look on her face.

Erza calmed down and faced Lucy with a smile. "You'll have to excuse Cana. Ever since they were little, she and Natsu never got along, though I don't know why." She explained before extending her hand to Lucy. "My name is Erza, welcome to Fairy Tail" she greeted with a smile. Lucy shakily extended her hand, nervous about Erza's commanding nature and the fact that she's the famous Titania!

"I-It's a p-pleasure to m-meet you, E-Erza-san" Lucy stuttered, clearly scared about making a good impression to Erza. Erza chuckled at Lucy's nervous behavior.

"Please, just call me Erza. I've heard a lot about you" Erza said which made Lucy even more nervous. What if what she had heard were bad things? Erza would never ever trust her and she would hate her! These thoughts ran wildly in Lucy's head before Erza spoke. "I heard that you were the one that flipped the cruise ship and defeated Bora and his men, all with one finger! I must say, I'm impressed" Erza said with a smile. Lucy just gaped at Erza like a fish. Where did she hear this crazy story?

"W-well that's not exactly how it went…" She tried to explain herself but Erza didn't hear her. As the day went on, Lucy managed to befriend the four girls she had met. They had conversations that lasted for hours. Eventually, Natsu and Gray came back with Macao and returned him to his son. They shared a happy embrace and went home together for the first time in a week. It was around eleven o'clock and everyone was returning to their homes when Lucy realized that she didn't have a place to go to!

"I really need to find an apartment tomorrow" Lucy said in despair. For now, she didn't have a place to sleep in.

"Lu-chan, why don't you stay at my place while you try to find an apartment?" Levy kindly offered. Lucy and Levy had quickly become best friends to the point where they called each other with the –chan suffix. Lucy gave a kind smile and thanked Levy for her hospitality.

* * *

Natsu lay on the bed in the apartment he had rented two years ago. He rented it for a special occasion, but after what happened back then, the apartment was just a painful memento. He looked at the ring on his right finger before he pulled out a necklace with a similar ring on it. He examined the two rings, memories rushing through his head.

"I gotta get rid of this place." He let out a heavy sigh and draped an arm over his eyes. That day was coming soon. He would have to make preparations.

* * *

A/N: There's Chapter 6 for ya! It's a really long chapter, mostly filled with IMHO, unimportant crap. As always, please leave a review. Any review, whether it is positive or constructive criticisms, is greatly appreciated. They always make me update faster.


	7. Chapter 7: Lucy's First Mission

A/N: Hey guys! Insanelee here and I'm back after a long, _long_ time with another chapter of The Dragon's Regret. Ever since school started, I haven't had much time to update this story and I deeply apologize for it. I feel like crap reading your reviews and not being able to supply you with another chapter. So without further ado, I present you with another, overdue chapter of The Dragon's Regret.

* * *

Chapter 7: Lucy's First Mission

July 7th, X784

Lucy was walking towards the Guild early in the morning. She quietly left Levy's apartment, not wanting to wake her new best friend up. She was filled with so much excitement from last night that she couldn't sleep. Strangely enough, she wasn't feeling tired at all. With a smile on her face, she continued her trek towards the guild. She was currently walking on Strawberry Street, where she saw a landlady put up a sign in front of a building.

"For rent?" Lucy read the sign out loud. She gave a questioning look towards the landlady, who she assumed was the landlady. Said landlady had a sad expression on her face.

"That's right" the landlady said with a sigh. "Are you interested, would you like to come in?" She offered to Lucy with a kind smile that replaced her sad expression. Lucy, happy that she found a potential place to stay in, happily went inside. When she stepped in, she was amazed at the interior. Everything was very tidy, and it felt cozy, fitting one or two people. All of the necessities were there, and beside the bed was a window that had a great view of the outside. Simply put, Lucy was definitely going to get this apartment. The landlady smiled at the enthusiasm Lucy displayed for the apartment.

"Wow, this place is amazing!" Lucy exclaimed with a smile on her face. "Who would want to give up a place like this?" She turned to the landlady with a questioning gaze. At her question, the lady's sad expression returned, worrying Lucy.

"Two years ago, a handsome young man rented this apartment for him and his fiancé. They were both mages, but most importantly, a very happy couple. Unfortunately, the fiancé had met her untimely end during a mission. Since then, the young man has changed so drastically, it's as if he became a completely different person. He didn't smile that often, or even at all. He was always sad, and often spent time by himself. He wanted to get rid of the apartment, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. They hadn't even moved in and yet this apartment meant a lot to him. He finally got rid of it yesterday, but it still pains me that he's feeling so much pain at such a young age" The lady concluded her story, tears forming in her eyes. Lucy gasped at the story, and tears of her own started forming. Whoever this person was really loved his fiancé, and she felt guilty that she was going to take the apartment that was originally meant for him.

"Maybe I shouldn't rent this place after all…" Lucy started, feeling uncomfortable with the idea of renting the apartment. The lady, though saddened, was not one to lose a potential tenant.

"Nonsense! You need a place to stay, so I encourage you to rent this apartment! The young man told me that it wouldn't be fair to anyone who was interested in this apartment if he kept living in it and never actually used it! He would've wanted you to live happily in this apartment. Please reconsider."

Lucy was conflicted. She really needed a place to stay, and this place was perfect for it. On the other hand, she didn't want to take away a person's memory that could've been. However, the landlady did say that the man wanted someone to rent the place, and it was a really nice apartment….

"Alright fine, I'll take it" Lucy said after much consideration. The landlady seemed pleased with Lucy. She took her hand and dragged her out of the apartment and into her office.

* * *

After the negotiations with the landlord, Lucy was happy and a little worried at the same time. While she was happy that she rented the apartment, she had to pay monthly rent. And it wasn't cheap either. 70,000 Jewels a month was pretty high for monthly rent. She knew that her main source of income would be the missions that she would take from the Guild, but she wasn't sure what kinds of missions she should take, what her skill level was, and most importantly, how much they paid. As she pondered these thoughts, she saw Natsu come out of the Guild was a bag over his shoulders and some flowers in his hand. She was going to wave 'Hi' to him, but he suddenly turned around and walked towards the town's entrance. Curious as to where he was going in the morning, Lucy decided to follow him, hoping that he wouldn't see her. Her activity led her to the forest, which confused Lucy. What could be in here that would make Natsu go here? After a while, her question was answered with a gravestone and a small hut. Lucy looked at her surroundings in confusion as Natsu suddenly sat in front of the gravestone, placing the flowers in front of it. Lucy watched intently as Natsu opened the bag and pulled on the contents. He pulled out a bottle of alcohol, containers of food, and two cups. He took out the food from the containers and placed them in front of the gravestone, as if it were some sort of offering. He then poured alcohol into the two cups, one for him, and the other for the gravestone. He wrapped his scarf around the gravestone before lifting his glass into the air. He quickly downed the drink in one go, made a noise of satisfaction, and poured another glass. Lucy watched and finally understood what he was doing. Natsu was paying tribute to someone special to him. Today must've been the day he or she died. Lucy turned around and returned to the Guild, leaving Natsu to himself and his friend.

"It's already been two years" Natsu said as he drank more of his alcohol. He sat quietly in front of the grave stone, drinking in peaceful silence. He had noticed that the new girl, Lucy was following him ever since he left the Guild, but he didn't really care. He just wanted to spend the day with her. He let out a heavy sigh as he poured himself another drink.

Lucy sat at the bar in silence. Her previous joy has been replaced with sadness. It saddened her to know that Natsu has lost someone and that today was the anniversary. What's worse was that she had unintentionally eavesdropped on such a personal moment for Natsu. She let out a heavy sigh as she slumped down in her seat. Levy who had been sitting next to her, was worried for Lucy ever since she walked into the Guild.

"What's wrong Lu-chan?" Levy asked her friend worriedly.

"Levy-chan, did something happen on this day?" Lucy asked her friend. Levy raised an eyebrow at her question.

"What do you mean?" Levy asked. She knew an answer to her question, but she didn't know what Lucy wanted to know. Lucy let out another sigh before she answered.

"This morning, I saw Natsu come out of the Guild and I followed him to this grave site. Then, I came back here to give him some privacy, and now that I think about it, it's unusually quiet today. I mean everybody's here talking to each other, but no one's starting a fight. Not to mention, I haven't seen Mira-san or Elfman today. What's going on?" Lucy asked Levy. Levy was impressed with Lucy's intellect. She was able to notice such details in only a couple of days. Levy let out a heavy sigh of her own before she answered.

"Lu-chan, here at Fairy Tail, we all consider ourselves to be family. We look out for each other and care for each other. Naturally when someone dies, we all feel sad. Today was the day something like that happened. Two years ago, we all lost someone very special. Everyone took it hard, but Natsu, Mira, and Elfman, they were devastated. Natsu especially, because he lost two people on this day." Levy said, making Lucy's eyes widen.

"What happened?" Lucy asked.

"It's not my place to tell. I would tell you to ask Mira or Elfman, but I don't think that they have recovered since that day. Natsu is just a no-go. He got the worst of it out of all of us. He doesn't like anything relating to this day to be mentioned, so we all keep quiet. Lu-chan, I'm asking you as your friend to just forget about it. You wouldn't want to make anyone, especially Natsu, upset." Levy finished as she got up and went to the Job Board. Lucy continued to sit at the bar in silence. She wanted to know more about what happened on this day, but she didn't want anyone to feel more upset than they should. These thoughts continued to plague her mind throughout the rest of the day.

* * *

Natsu sat beside the gravestone, watching the sunset with a sad smile on his face. The sunset was really beautiful, especially in their location. He could understand why she wanted to be buried here.

"Man, the sunset looks amazing, doesn't it?" He asked, hoping that someone could hear him. Sadly, he was met with silence. He continued to watch the sun set until it went down completely. His body grew tired with all the sentimentality of this day. He withdrew into the hut that he made with her so many years ago. The hut was a little small, but he managed to fit himself into it. He lied down and draped an arm over his eyes and tried to sleep. He couldn't help but reminisce about the halcyon days, when he and Igneel would live happily together, train together, laugh together, sleep together, and all of the other wonderful things they did together. His mind shifted to memories of him and her. She could make him smile on the gloomiest of days, when no one else would be able to. She made him feel complete. Now, both of them were gone, one for good, and the other, who knows where he went? Natsu let out a heavy sigh as sleep finally took over.

break

Lucy sat at her desk in her new apartment, writing on a piece of paper. With the help of many of the guild members, she was able to put all of her stuff into her new apartment in a short amount of time. While she was happy that she finally found a place to live in, she couldn't help but remember what she had saw earlier today. She wanted to know more about Natsu and the gravestone, so she talked to Levy. However, she ended up getting more questions than answers. As she pondered on these thoughts, she continued to write on the piece of paper on her table.

_Dear Mama,_

_I finally joined the Guild of my dreams, Fairy Tail! It's so amazing! The people there are very nice, not at all what I expected from such a powerful Guild. In fact, these people are some of the strangest people I have ever met! The master is really nice, although he can be a little perverted at times. Gray brought me to the Guild, though I don't know why he strips all the time. Erza's really scary but she means well! Then there's Mira-san, who's just as scary as Erza, but just as nice too! Levy-chan is my best friend at the Guild. She loves books just as I do, and wants to be the first to read the novel that I'm writing. There are so many interesting people I want to write about, but I'm going to need a lot more paper!_

_But then there's Natsu. I don't really know what to think of him. I mean, he seems like a nice person, but underneath it all is a sad man with a terrible past. What happened to him Mama? He lost two of his best friends today, just like I did. I want to find out more, but I don't want him to be upset or angry with me. What should I do Mama?_

_Anyways, it's getting late. I have to end this letter, but I'll write to you every day! I can't wait to sleep in my new apartment, in my new bed! This apartment rocks! I wish you were here to see it. I love you Mama 3_

_Love,_

_Lucy_

She folded the paper in half and put in it an envelope. She then put the envelope into a box. She then looked at her bed, and then back to her desk, where a stack of papers lay. She decided that she was too tired to continue writing, so she went to bed. All of the thinking she did today made her tired. She decided that she would sleep, and try to forget about everything that happened today. For Natsu's sake.

July 8th, X784

Lucy awoke from a great sleep in her new bed. She got out of her bed and performed her daily rituals of showering and brushing her teeth, all in her new bathroom. She wrapped a towel around her body and walked into the kitchen to cook some breakfast.

"Yo Lucy!" Natsu and Happy greeted casually from her chair in the living room. They were eating some of Lucy's food from her pantry when she walked in.

"Good morning Natsu, Happy" She replied back to then, not noticing that they were somehow in her apartment. She continued into her kitchen when she froze mid step. She took a double take at her living room and indeed saw Natsu and Happy in her living room, eating her food. Her eyes slowly and comically widened with the realization. Natsu, not realizing that what he was doing was creeping her out, simply waved at her with a smile on his face.

"My room!" Lucy screamed in horror. She then quickly performed a spin kick and attacked Natsu in rage. "What the hell are you doing here?!" She asked in rage as her foot hit Natsu, crashing him into Happy, who was crushed in between Natsu and the wall. Natsu and Happy both slumped to the ground, while Lucy was seething in embarrassment and rage. "How did you even get in?!" She angrily asked the two.

"Jeez Lucy, is any way to greet a friend?" Natsu said as he was rubbing his head.

"We barely know each other! And don't avoid the question!" Lucy retorted quickly. Natsu got up from the ground and sat back in the chair. "How did you even find out where I lived?" She asked angrily.

"I asked the guys where you lived. I need to ask you for your help on something" Natsu said, surprising Lucy. What could she possibly do to help Natsu out?

"What do you need my help for?" Lucy asked. Natsu was about to say something, but noticed Lucy's current state of dress.

"Maybe I'll tell you when you put on some clothes" Natsu bluntly said. Lucy looked down and noticed that she was still in her towel. She blushed a bright red and quickly ran to the bathroom with a set on clothes in her hand, not before calling Natsu and Happy perverts.

"I don't get it. She was perfectly fine standing in front of us with nothing but a towel, but then she calls us perverts and rushes towards the bathroom" Natsu thought out loud.

"Lucy's weird." Happy said

"You said it buddy"

"I can still hear you guys!" Lucy called from the bathroom.  
"Hurry it up in there!" Natsu called impatiently. Moments later, a frustrated Lucy stormed out of the bathroom and approached Natsu. "Finally, what took you so long?" He asked.

"Well excuse me for wanting to look good" Lucy retorted impatiently, before cracking a smile and showed off her outfit. "What do you think? Doesn't this just bring out my sex appeal?" Lucy asked the two with a wink. She was wearing a green tank top with a pink tube top underneath it. She had on a yellow mini skirt with brown boots*. She twirled around in hopes that she could entice either Natsu or Happy with her looks. However, neither Happy nor Natsu were affected.

"Lucy you don't have any sex appeal" Happy bluntly said. Natsu snorted at his comment, while Lucy got angry.

"Shut it you damn cat, what do you know about sex appeal?!" Lucy yelled at Happy.

"Waah! Natsu, Lucy's scary, just like Erza!" Happy said as he flew behind Natsu, using him as cover to shield him from Lucy.

"Lucy you can't get a boyfriend like that if you threaten people and show off your nonexistent sex appeal" Natsu chided. Lucy was about to say something, but remembered that Natsu needed her help with something, so she, with much restraint, changed the subject.

"What do you need my help with?" Lucy asked impatiently. Natsu, remembering what he was there for, quickly got serious.

"Lucy, now that you're a member of Fairy Tail, you're gonna have to go on missions. You represent our Guild when you go on these missions. The better you do, the more requests Fairy Tail will gain, and the more trustworthy we become to the people. These missions give different pay, depending on the difficulty of the mission. I can see how nice this apartment is, but I imagine that the rent isn't cheap." Natsu explained to Lucy. Lucy understood what he was saying, but she didn't understand what he needed her for.

"Okay, I get all of that, but where exactly do I come in for this plan?" Lucy asked.

"Lucy, I want you to come on a job with me." Natsu announced, shocking Lucy. Why does he want her to go on a job with him?

"Why me? Can't you go by yourself?" She asked worriedly.

"Sometimes a job can be too difficult for one person to complete by themselves. That's why teams are made" Natsu told her.

"Teams?" Lucy asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That's right. A team is a group of people that go on missions together. Being on a team increases the success rate of a mission. It can also balance out the abilities of a team" Natsu explained. Lucy raised an eyebrow at the last part of Natsu's' explanation.

"Balance each other out?" Lucy repeated. Natsu nodded and explained.

"Exactly. I'm just a fighter Lucy. I don't have the brains needed to complete other missions. But, I can sense that you are a smart girl, and that you would be great for this mission. You're the brains and I'm the brawn. We're both good at something the one isn't good at, balancing out our weaknesses and strengths" Natsu explained.

"Still, why do you need me?" Lucy asked, unconvinced about the whole balance each other out thing.

"Like I said, you seem like a really smart person. I mean, Levy's out on a mission with her team, and Erza's out on her own mission" Natsu told her.

"What about Mira-san?" Lucy asked. Natsu became quiet at the mention of Mira's name, which unnerved Lucy.

"I simply can't work with Mira" Natsu said after some time. An awkward silence filled the room, making Lucy uncomfortable, while Natsu didn't seem to notice. Suddenly, Natsu snapped his fingers, remembering something very important that he needed to ask Lucy. "Oh yeah I forgot, I don't even know what kind of magic you can use" Natsu told her, which made Lucy face fault. He was going to ask her to team up with him when he didn't even know what kind of magic she could use? Lucy sighed at Natsu's behavior before she answered.

"I'm a Celestial Spirit Mage" She answered simply. She got blank stares from Natsu and Happy. She sighed again before she explained her magic. "I can summon Celestial Spirits by opening their gates with their keys" Lucy explained. The same look stayed on the two's faces. "Look, if you guys still don't get it, I can demonstrate it for you. I got one from Hargeon and I still haven't made a contract with it yet" Lucy concluded. She grabbed a silver key and pointed it forwards and took a stance.

"I am connected to the path to the Celestial Spirit World! Heed my call! Pass through the gate!" When she finished, a bright loud surrounded her.

"Open, Gate of the Little Dog! Nicola!"

One spectacular light show later, a spirit emerged. However, it didn't really look like a dog. Instead it looked like a tiny snowman with wobbly legs. Natsu and Happy both looked shocked at the result, and gave Lucy looks of pity.

"Better luck next time" They both said.

"I didn't mess up!" Lucy told them annoyed. Lucy's annoyance was suddenly replaced with adoration for Nicola as she suddenly hugged him very tightly. Eventually, she showed them how surprisingly simple the contract negotiations went, and even renamed Nicola to Plue. She hugged Plue as she continued the conversation from where it was before. "I still don't understand why you need me. I mean, I'm new and I don't think I can help you that much on this mission." Natsu sensed her apprehension and chuckled.

"Don't worry, I found the easiest mission I could find." Natsu reassured her, which made her let out a sigh of relief.

"Oh, well then I guess I could come. Can I see the flyer?" Lucy asked. Natsu nodded and asked Happy to give her the flyer. Happy promptly gave her the flyer. Lucy accepted it and read over the flyer. It looked like a decent job until a red stamp caught her attention, her eyes bulging in surprise.

"Easiest job my ass! This is an S-Class job!" Lucy said as she threw the flyer back at Natsu. Natsu looked surprised at Lucy's knowledge of S-Class jobs.

"You know about S-Class jobs?" He asked.

"Mira told me about them yesterday." Lucy said with a shudder. She remembered how carefree Mira was in her description about S-Class jobs.

_Flashback_

_Lucy sat at the bar, observing her surroundings. She had gotten to know most of the Guild members, so she didn't have anyone to talk to. She looked towards the second floor and saw a lone man sitting at a table, feet propped up on said table with his eyes closed and arms crossed. He had a set of magical headphones with him, so she assumed that he was listening to music._

"_Ne Mira-san, who's that up there?" Lucy asked while pointing towards the man. Mira followed her finger and scowled when she saw who exactly Lucy was pointing towards._

"_That's Laxus, the Master's grandson" Mira said, shocking Lucy. If this Laxus person was really related to the master, then he was be a very strong wizard._

"_Wow, he must be a strong wizard then" Lucy said with amazement in her voice._

"_Yeah, but he's a bit of an ass. He thinks all of us are weaklings and that he should be the next master of the Guild. I wouldn't advise talking to him if I were you." Mira said before she resumed to her activities. Lucy was naturally curious. She wanted to know Laxus better, but she didn't know whether it was worth it considering how Mira just described him. She decided to give it a shot and went upstairs when Mira stopped her._

"_Lucy where are you going?" Mira asked, stopping Lucy in her tracks._

"_I'm going upstairs?" Lucy replied, not sure why someone wanted to know such a thing._

"_Lucy, you can't go upstairs, it's forbidden." Mira explained. Lucy's eyes widened at Mira's words._

"_Forbidden? What do you mean?" Lucy innocently asked._

"_Upstairs is where the S-Class jobs are. Those are jobs that are extraordinarily difficult. Only mages the Master deems worthy can go upstairs and perform those missions. If you try to go on one of those missions, you'll surely die." Mira said with a smile on her face, creeping Lucy out. "Don't go upstairs, do you understand?"_

"_H-hai Mira-san" Lucy said, suddenly scared about going upstairs._

_End Flashback_

"There is no way that I'm going on an S-Class job as my first job." Lucy said with a huff.

"Oh come on Lucy, nothing bad will happen. It's not like we're gonna take down some super criminal, we're just going to some island and try to lift a curse there" Natsu explained, as if a curse was any better than meeting a criminal.

"Oh sure, that's so much better. Getting cursed is way better than fighting an incredibly dangerous criminal" Lucy said sarcastically. Natsu however, didn't notice her sarcasm.

"That's the spirit Lucy!" He said with a smile.

"I was being sarcastic you know…" Lucy trailed off.

"Look Lucy, don't worry about a things. I'm taking you with me; I know the risks of this mission. I'm not going to let anything happen to you. I will protect you." Natsu said with conviction. Lucy blushed fiercely at his statement. It surprised her how confident Natsu was with his statement. The look in his eyes says that he will do what it takes to ensure her safety. Still, Lucy was not confident with her abilities and how big of a role they would play in this mission.

"I'm sorry Natsu, but I can't go with you" Lucy said with finality. Natsu nodded and slowly got up. However, he had an ace up his sleeve….

"Alright Lucy, that's fine. I'll just have to find someone else to go with. But what am I going to do with the reward? I mean, even when I split 7 million Jewels with someone, it's still a lot of money. I can use that money and never worry about rent for at least 4 years" Lucy's ears perked at the mention of the money. 7 million Jewels split between two people? That meant each person would get 3.5 million Jewels each!

"And not to mention, what am I going to do with a Golden Zodiac Gate Key? I'm not a Celestial Spirit Mage, so I don't have a need for such a thing. Guess I'll have to throw it out or give it away to someone" Lucy suddenly jumped with a big smile on her face.

"You know what? I change my mind! Let's go to this island! I want to see how I do on such an important mission! And if I complete an S-Class mission as my very first mission, I could be famous!" Lucy said as she quickly packed her things for the mission. Natsu smiled and Lucy's behavior.

'That was way too easy' he thought to himself. He looked at Happy and they gave each other a thumbs up.

* * *

Gray sat at the bar back at the Guild, waiting for Lucy to come. He wanted to go on a mission, and with Lucy being new to the Guild, he decided to take her along with him. He already had a mission for them, a simple job requesting the investigation of a village that has disappeared, leaving behind many monsters in its place. Gray sat at the bar, slowly losing his patience as time went on. He has been waiting for Lucy for the last couple of hours, and she has yet to show. As he sat at the bar waiting for Lucy, a loud shriek brought him out of his musings. He looked for the source of the shriek and found it at the second floor in the form of Mirajane.

"Mira what's wrong?" Gray asked, wondering what could make someone like Mira make that kind of sound.

"Master, a job flyer from the second floor is missing!" Mira exclaimed, shocking all the mages in the Guild. The Master was drinking his coffee when he had heard the news. He spit the coffee out of his mouth, a comedic expression on his face to match his delayed reaction.

"A job sheet's missing?"

"If it was from the second floor, then it must've been an S-Class job."

"Who would do something like that?"

Various questions were being asked around the Guild. All of the members were curious as to who was dumb enough to take an S-Class job without having it approved.

"A cat. I saw a cat with wings take that flyer."

A powerful voice resonated throughout the Guild. All the chatter in the Guild ceased and everyone looked up at the second floor to find Laxus calmly sitting at a table with an evil smirk on his face.

"Happy took it?!" Mira and Gray asked in shock.

"That's right. The cat was talking about going on a job with some girl named Lucy." Laxus replied, shocking the Guild even more.

"He's taking Lucy with him?" Mira exclaimed in shock. Happy is usually with Natsu, which means he must be going as well. That wouldn't be such a bad thing if Lucy wasn't going. Lucy only been with the Guild for a few days and hasn't gone on a mission yet.

"Damn Natsu. He's taking Lucy on an S-Class mission with him? Doesn't he know how dangerous those missions are, especially for Lucy? I swear that idiot will get her killed just like-"Cana vented, expressing her anger and hatred for Natsu. Her rage was so great that she didn't realize what she was about to say. Fortunately, Laxus stopped her.

"You know Gramps, this is pretty reckless of Natsu. I mean sure he can go on these types of missions, but to take a newbie with him? He's going to get her killed. That goes against everything you believe in doesn't it? He should be severely punished when he gets back." Laxus calmly said.

"When they come back? They shouldn't go on the mission in the first place!" Mira shouted at him, making various members of the Guild flinch. She walked up to Laxus and put her hands at her hips, "If you saw Happy take the mission, why didn't you try to stop him?" she asked him with ferocity. While many would shake at her tone, Laxus was unaffected, keeping that evil smile on his face.

"All I saw was a cat with a piece of paper in his mouth. How could I have known that that piece of paper was an S-Class job?" Laxus calmly asked. Mira responded with a dark glare that made it apparent why she was called "The Demon". Laxus however, just shrugged it off.

"This is bad. What job was taken?" Master calmly asked.

"The Cursed Island of Galuna." Mira replied, not taking her eyes off of Laxus.

"What?!" Master exclaimed, his eyes widening.

"Galuna Island?"

"That's insane!"

"Those guys are really stupid!"

The entire Guild was in an uproar at the revelation of which job was taking. The Master composed himself and sprung into action.

"Laxus! Go and bring them back!" He ordered. Laxus simply waved his hand.

"Don't be silly. I have my own thing to do. Besides, the members of this Guild should be able to take care of themselves. I'm not gonna babysit Natsu just because he went on a mission." He explained himself. He opened an eye and looked at Mira. "If you're so concerned about them, why don't you go after them?" Mira said nothing as she looked at the floor, a look of apprehension appeared on her face. Laxus laughed at the sudden change in behavior, "What? Can't do it? You still afraid to face Natsu after all this time? How pathetic." Laxus burst out laughing, demoralizing Mira, while making everyone else feel sorry for her. Fortunately, Master decided to intervene.

"Laxus! That's enough" Master commanded. Laxus just rolled his eyes while Mira sent a thankful look towards the Master. "We need someone to stop Natsu from going on that mission. Lucy's life is in danger if she goes on that mission" the Master told the Guild. While most of the members nodded, many looked nervous, even scared of the idea of stopping Natsu. Natsu is regarded as one of the strongest mages in the Guild, as well as one of the scariest. He ties with Mystogan and Laxus as the strongest mage in the Guild, and ties with Erza and Mira as the scariest. With what happened two years, Natsu became the complete opposite of what they were used to. Even though recently he has shown signs of his old personality, he still scares his Guildmates. The Master looked around the Guild to find someone to go after Natsu. He immediately took Elfman off his list. He, along with Mira, is still uneasy about talking, or doing anything, with Natsu. He also took Cana off his list. Her hatred for Natsu is so strong that she might actually do something to Natsu other than bring him back to the Guild. Erza wasn't a choice due to her being out on a mission. Most of the other Guild members he considered were out on missions, and everyone else was not up to the task. Master sighed in defeat.

"I guess there's no one here who can bring him back."

"Master, I'm hurt" a voice called out to him. Master and everyone else in the Guild followed the source of the voice to the one person who could be considered an equal to Natsu in strength: Gray Fullbuster. Gray, with a cigarette in his mouth, in his half naked glory, stood up from his seat and faced the Master. "I can't let a comment like that slide."

* * *

Natsu, Happy, and Lucy were standing at the ports of Hargeon, with frustration written all over their faces. They asked all of the ferrymen at the port if they could take them to Galuna Island, but all of them refused. As soon as they heard the name of the island, they immediately rejected their request, fearing the curse on the island.

"Galuna Island? Yeah right, we're not going near that place!"

"Going to that place brings nothing but trouble."

"Even pirates don't go to that island."

Were some of the various responses that they received. Lucy was getting frustrated that her first mission has off to a poor start, and she hasn't even started it yet. She was going to get the key and the money no matter what! Natsu, seeing no other option, came to a decision.

"Let's swim there."

Lucy looked at Natsu as if he had grown an extra head.

"That's a ridiculous idea" she said. Sure, they couldn't find a boat that would take them, but swimming is just a ridiculous idea. How can they possibly be able to swim such a far distance? "We're not swimming" she said with finality.

"Found ya!" a voice from behind called to them. Lucy jumped at the voice, while Natsu froze in place. Lucy was surprised that Gray had managed to find them, while Natsu looked angry.

"Gray, what are you doing here?" Lucy asked her friend. Gray looked at her, concern written all over his face.

"I'm here to take you guys back to the Guild" he simply stated. Lucy looked at him with confusion all over her face.

"Why would you do that?" She asked.

"Yeah Gray, why would you?" Natsu asked with a tone. Gray looked at him with anger in his eyes.

"You know damn well why I'm taking her with me" Gray yelled at Natsu. He turned back to Lucy, concern all over his face again. "The Master doesn't want you to go on this S-Class mission, and he wants to talk to Natsu about this personally" he explained, emphasizing the 'personally.'

"Look, Gray, tell the Master that it's going to be fine. I'm taking her with me" Natsu explained, which didn't seem to cut it for Gray.

"The Master told me to bring you guys back, so I'm going to do it. Lucy, you're coming with me, we can go on a safer mission for your first" He told both of the mages. At his response, Natsu got angry.

"Who the hell do you think you are ordering me around?!" He asked.

"Who the hell do you think _you_ are for taking Lucy on such a dangerous mission?!" Gray responded. Gray and Natsu were glaring daggers at each other, which unnerved Lucy. From what she had heard, Gray and Natsu were great friend who haven't had an argument in two years. She tried to settle _some_ of the tension in the air.

"I-It's okay Gray. I wanted to go, really!" She said with her hands up and a nervous smile on her face. Gray, however, didn't seem to hear her.

"Be lucky that it's me that they sent and not Cana. I can't even begin to imagine what she would've done if they picked her" Gray told him, as if to assuage any fear in Natsu, none of which he had.

"Is that supposed to make me feel relaxed or something? I don't know what it is about Cana and how she doesn't like me, but in any case, I'm still going. Cana, Loke, Erza, or even Laxus or Mystogan! I don't care whoever they send; we're still going on this mission!" Natsu declared.

"You're putting her at such great risk, you know that right? Do you want a repeat of happened two years ago?" Gray yelled at Natsu. At his question, Natsu's raged intensified.

"DON'T YOU DARE BRING THAT UP!" Natsu yelled, scaring Lucy and Happy, while attracting the attention of a lot of people. Gray was the only one not affected. "This is different. I'm much stronger now, I can protect Lucy" Natsu argued. Lucy listened to their exchange with a mixture of fear and curiosity. While she had heard that Natsu can be frightening, she didn't know how frightening he could be. Right now, Natsu was the scariest person Lucy had ever met, next to Erza. But the conversation interested her. Who was it that Gray was talking about and why did Natsu suddenly lash out in intense rage?

"I don't care if you're strong enough to protect Lucy; the Master wants her back so I'm going to take her back! If I have to use force, then so be it" Gray said as he readied his magic in his hands. Natsu lit his fists in retaliation.

"I don't care what the old man says, I'm going on this mission with Lucy and that's final!" Natsu told Gray. Both mages took a battle stance and glared at each other. Lucy and Happy were scared of a possible fight. One of the ferrymen however, looked surprised at the magic gathered in Natsu and Gray's hands.

"You guys are mages?" he asked, surprising the four. Lucy looked over to the ferryman and nodded. "Wait, so are you guys going to break that island's curse?" he asked.

"Well, we're going to try…" Lucy said nervously.

"Yeah, and nobody's going to stop us" Natsu said, not taking his eyes off Gray.

"Not if I have anything to say about it" Gray interjected. The ferryman looked at the mages for a long time, before pointing at his boat.

"Get in!" He told them. Lucy and Gray turned to the ferryman in surprise. Natsu, noticing that Gray was distracted, took the opportunity to knock him out with a kick. He put Gray over his shoulders and faced the ferryman.

"Alright then, let's go" He said nonchalantly, making Lucy and the ferryman sweatdrop.

"We're taking him with us?" Lucy asked.

"If we leave him here and he wakes up, he'll go back to the Guild and they'll send more people. It's best if we take him with us." Natsu explained which made sense to Lucy. Lucy and Natsu looked at each other with a smile on their faces, ready for their job.

"Well then,

"Aye sir!" Natsu and Happy responded.

* * *

A/N: And that's the end of Chapter 7! Once again, I apologize for taking such a long time to update. School has kept me busy, in addition to intense laziness. Physics and AP Calculus have been kicking my ass so I needed to study. This chapter took me so long to write though. Every time I would it down to start writing, I would get a couple of words in and stop. This took me like 2-3 weeks to write. I apologize once again. This chapter didn't really have a lot of action so if it's not the chapter you were expecting, don't worry because the next one will have a lot of action in it.


	8. Authors Note

Authors Note

Hey guys! Insanelee here and I have some things to clear up with you guys

First off: Why has it been so long since I updated?

Well, the biggest reason why I haven't written is due to a combination of three factors: Lack of motivation, writers block, and laziness

The lack of motivation hit me hard. I always told myself that I needed to update, but I never actually do it. There really was no incentive for me to update. I know that's selfish of me, because of all the people out there who love my story, but I don't have the same spark that I felt when I started.

Writer's block is just awful for me. Right now in _The Dragon's Regret_ I basically planned out everything I wanted to happen, except for where I am right now, the Deliora Arc. This was honestly one of my least favorite arcs in the series because I felt it was just too boring and uninteresting. This and the Nirvana arc made me lose interest in the anime. So what I decided to do was to just get through the Deliora and possibly the Nirvana arc as fast as I can. By that I plan on making everything happen in one go and not have to deal with one of my least favorite arcs. I have everything else planned: Phantom Lord, Tower of Heaven, Battle of Fairy Tail, etc. I got everything planned out, but I have to get through the Deliora arc. This might happen again with the Niravana arc so I'm warning you guys ahead of time.

Now the biggest thing that held me back was my laziness. There were times were I had the time and opportunity to update my story. But 99% of the time I decided against it, all because I didn't feel like it.

I'm such an asshole.

I deeply apologize for the incredible wait. I am currently writing the only chapter I plan on writing for the Deliora arc, but it's coming pretty slowly.

HOWEVER!

Just so everyone is clear, I want to stress the main point of this A/N

I AM NOT GIVING UP ON THIS STORY!

I am and will not ever give up on this story. I want to see this from start to finish. I have everything planned out, I just need to get it done. Which is easier said than done for me at this point.

For those wondering about my other story,_ The Pegasus and the Fairy, _I'm not giving up on that one either; I just want to focus more on _The Dragon's Regret._

I again apologize for the long wait. It's pretty difficult to get the motivation to write, but I'm doing this for you guys. You guys have been supporting my story since I started, and I still can't believe it.

So, I'm not giving up on my stories, I just wasn't in the writing spirit lately. I'll try to be more efficient when it comes to writing.

Peace out,

Insanelee


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